Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar has confirmed that drone attacks were carried out targeting three cities in the country, directly blaming the Afghan Taliban government for the provocative strikes.
According to the report on Al Jazeera, Tarar revealed that small drones were detected and brought down over the cities of Abbottabad, Swabi, and Nowshera, all located in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan.
The minister was quick to reassure the public, stating that the incidents resulted in “no damage to life,” suggesting that the drones were intercepted before causing any casualties or significant harm on the ground.
The confirmation of drone attacks on Pakistani soil marks a further escalation in the rapidly deteriorating relationship between Islamabad and Kabul, coming in the wake of Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan territory and retaliatory attacks by Afghan forces on Pakistani border troops.
Fitna al khawarij terrorists have attempted to launch small drones in Abbotabad, Swabi and Nowshera. Anti Drone Systems have brought down all the drones. No damage to life.
The incidents have again exposed direct linkages between Afghan Taliban Regime and Terrorism in Pakistan.
— Attaullah Tarar (@TararAttaullah) February 27, 2026
The use of drones represents a new and concerning dimension to the conflict, raising fears that the nature of hostilities between the two countries is evolving beyond conventional border skirmishes.
Pakistan has in recent days declared the situation an “open war,” with its defence minister using that precise language to describe the state of relations with Afghanistan. The drone incidents are likely to further harden Islamabad’s position as it continues military operations against what it describes as terrorist infrastructure inside Afghan territory.
The international community, including China, Iran, Russia, and the United Nations, has been urging both sides to exercise restraint and return to dialogue, though those calls appear to have done little to slow the pace of escalation so far.
Operation Ghazab-ul-Haq initiated after a series of terror attacks in Pakistan during Ramadan, including a bombing in Islamabad that killed 31–36 people.
The conflict marks the end of a fragile ceasefire mediated by Qatar in October 2025. Pakistan has warned that it will no longer tolerate militant activity originating from Afghan soil
