Pakistan Shoots Down Eight Drones Launched From Afghanistan

Overview

• Pakistan’s air defence forces said they shot down eight drones that entered from Afghanistan on Wednesday, with four downed near the Torkham border and four near Kohat.
• Pakistani security officials said the drones were intended to target public locations and framed the incident as further proof that the Afghan Taliban shelters anti‑Pakistan militants; the Taliban’s spokesman denied any attacks.
• Earlier this week Pakistan carried out precision airstrikes and ground operations inside eastern Afghanistan that it said killed 28 militants, a claim disputed by Kabul and questioned by the U.N., which reported civilian casualties.
• Pakistani local officials reported a foiled militant infiltration and subsequent cross‑border shelling that Pakistan says it answered with artillery, but those accounts rely on anonymous sources and have not been independently verified.
• The exchanges deepen diplomatic strain, threaten to undercut mediation efforts by China, Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, and raise the prospect of more frequent cross‑border strikes with higher risks for civilians living along the frontier.