Pakistan Says It Shot Down Four Afghan Drones as Cross-Border Tensions Escalate

KARACHI, July 1: Pakistan's military said Wednesday it shot down four rudimentary drones allegedly launched by Afghan security forces, while Afghanistan claimed it carried out airstrikes against alleged Daesh hideouts inside Pakistani territory, marking a fresh escalation in tensions between the neighboring countries.

In a statement, the Pakistan Army said its air defense system detected and destroyed the drones on Tuesday over the southwestern province of Balochistan. It alleged the drones were launched by Afghan security forces in support of militant groups operating from Afghan territory.

The military warned that any further provocations by the Afghan Taliban would be met with a "befitting response" carrying serious consequences.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan's Defense Ministry said its air force conducted precision strikes on alleged Daesh camps in Pakistan's Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.

Deputy Defense Ministry spokesman Siddiqullah Nusrat said the operation inflicted "heavy casualties and material losses" on the militant group and claimed the strikes were carried out with "great precision" without causing civilian casualties.

The exchange of accusations follows renewed tensions after a militant attack on a security facility in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi and subsequent Pakistani airstrikes targeting what Islamabad described as terrorist camps inside Afghanistan last week.

Relations between Islamabad and Kabul have remained strained in recent years, with Pakistan accusing Afghanistan of allowing militant groups to operate from its territory—an allegation repeatedly denied by the Afghan authorities.