ISLAMABAD: Pakistani law enforcement agencies have foiled 246 drone attack attempts by Afghanistan-based terrorists in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province this year, according to a report by state-run media on Sunday.
Pakistani police and other law enforcement agencies foiled the terrorist drone attacks using anti-drone technology. No casualties or damage was reported during the foiled drone attack attempts, the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said in a report.
“According to an official report on Sunday, a total of 246 drone attack attempts were recorded,” APP said.
The highest number of foiled attacks, 215, occurred in the Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to the report.
Similarly, fifteen foiled attempts were recorded in Dera Ismail Khan, seven in Malakand and four in Peshawar.
Two attempts each were reported in Mardan and Kohat districts, while one occurred in the Hazara division, the report stated.
Rising use of drones by terrorists
Pakistani officials have previously said terrorist groups, particularly the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorist group which is based in Afghanistan, are increasingly using commercially available drones modified to drop explosives.
Authorities say such equipment became more accessible to terrorists after the withdrawal of US forces from neighbouring Afghanistan.
The northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has seen a surge in terrorist attacks since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021.
Islamabad has repeatedly highlighted the issue of the Afghan Taliban harbouring terrorist groups on Afghanistan’s soil.
These terrorist groups are using Afghanistan’s territory to launch attacks inside Pakistan.
Afghan Taliban targeting civilians in Pakistan
On Friday, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that at least nine civilians, including women and children, were killed and 15 others injured after Afghan Taliban interim government forces shelled border areas in Bajaur district.
In a post on X, Tarar described the attack as “unprovoked and criminal targeting of civilians”.
He also said three civilians were injured in a separate drone attack by terrorists of the TTP.
The inhuman violent spate of deliberate targeting of innocent civilians by Afghans Taliban regime in border districts of KP is unacceptable, insidious and reflective of their barbaric nature towards human life. Resorting to targeting civilian areas after being comprehensively… pic.twitter.com/1cPd7c6JeI
— Attaullah Tarar (@TararAttaullah) May 1, 2026
Security sources said shelling incidents were also reported in South Waziristan, where five civilians, including a woman and four children, were injured after mortar rounds struck residential areas.
Pakistan’s counterterrorism operations
Pakistan has intensified counterterrorism operations following a spike in terrorist attacks by terrorist groups based in Afghanistan.
The large-scale counterterrorism operations target terrorist infrastructure to prevent cross-border infiltration of terrorists.
Security sources said Pakistani forces have carried out strikes against terrorist hideouts across the border in Afghanistan.
Thousands of TTP terrorists have regrouped in eastern Afghan provinces, including Khost, Paktika, Paktia and Kunar, and operate with complete freedom.
Pakistan has repeatedly urged the Afghan Taliban regime to take concrete steps to dismantle these terrorist networks.
The counterterrorism operations are part of an ongoing campaign launched earlier this year against terrorist groups operating along the border with Afghanistan.
