Afghanistan Conducts Drone Strikes Near Pakistan Capital; Pakistani Forces and World Stunned as Bombs Rain on Military Bases

Abhinand  New Delhi: In a move that has shocked Pakistan, Afghanistan has conducted airstrikes on several of the country's vital install...

Abhinand 

New Delhi: In a move that has shocked Pakistan, Afghanistan has conducted airstrikes on several of the country's vital installations. Reports indicate that drones and vintage helicopters were utilized for the attack.

On Friday, February 27, the Afghan Taliban claimed to have successfully launched drone strikes on strategic military centers in Pakistan. The Taliban Ministry of Defense stated that this was a retaliatory move against the strikes previously carried out by Pakistan in Kabul and Kandahar.

The Taliban’s drone strikes targeted military camps in Faizabad (near Islamabad), Nowshera, Swabi, and Abbottabad.

Pakistan’s Information Minister, Attaullah Tarar, claimed that Pakistan's anti-drone systems intercepted the drones sent by the Taliban and that there was no loss of life or property.

However, the fact that the Taliban—which does not possess a conventional air force or related infrastructure—carried out a successful aerial attack has stunned not only Pakistan but the entire world. The Taliban currently operates a hybrid force consisting of American and Soviet-era planes and helicopters, supplemented by low-cost modern drone technology.

When the US military withdrew in 2021, the Taliban came into possession of aircraft and helicopters worth approximately $923 million. These were originally provided by the US to the previous Afghan government. Following the withdrawal, US sanctions halted their maintenance. Without help from American or Russian experts, the Taliban has been keeping some aircraft operational by "cannibalizing" parts from grounded ones.

Consequently, the Taliban is now focusing more on drones. The events in Pakistan serve as evidence that the Taliban has learned to attach explosives to commercially available drones to conduct precision strikes. They are also using drones like the ScanEagle, captured from the former Afghan army, for surveillance.

The Pakistan military is alarmed that the Taliban is capable of conducting drone strikes even in distant locations like Abbottabad and Nowshera. Carrying out drone strikes deep within a neighbor's territory serves to demoralize the enemy.

Similarly, helicopters inherited from the US are helping the Taliban move troops quickly across Afghanistan's mountainous terrain. While the lack of experienced pilots remains a major hurdle, the drones used by the Taliban are significantly cheaper than Pakistani fighter jets and are much harder to detect on radar.

Pakistan has been bombing targets as far as Kabul, operating under the assumption that the Taliban lacks the systems to intercept enemy fighter jets. To counter this, the Taliban has been frequently shifting the location of their aircraft and drones to avoid being targeted by Pakistani airstrikes.

Pakistan’s Defense Minister, Khawaja Asif, declared that Pakistan’s patience has run out and that an "Open War" with Afghanistan is now underway. He further alleged that the Taliban is acting as a proxy for India.

The Taliban claimed that 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed in the border clashes. Conversely, Islamabad claimed that 133 Taliban fighters were killed in Pakistan’s airstrikes. China has called on both nations to declare an immediate ceasefire and resolve the issue through dialogue.

The relationship between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban has reached a critical stage over the past few days. The Taliban’s drone strikes were a response to the Pakistani aerial operation titled "Operation Ghazab lil-Haq."

The dispute over the border line between Pakistan and Afghanistan has existed for years, as the Taliban refuses to recognize this official boundary. Islamabad’s primary allegation is that the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) is using Afghan soil to launch attacks against Pakistan.