Pakistan Fights Back
OpinionPakistan Responds to Drone Incursion With Precision Strikes
From Air Defense to Deep Precision Strikes: A New Chapter in the Pakistan–Afghanistan Confrontation.
By Major (R) Haroon Rasheed. Defense & Strategic Analyst specializing in South Asian military dynamics, deterrence strategy, and defense modernization; Member, Research and Evaluation Cell for Advancing Basic Amenities and Development, Writer and Defense Contributor — Pakistan First & Pakistan Hamesha Zindabad.
The latest confrontation between Pakistan and Afghanistan has moved into a new and potentially more dangerous phase. What began with an attempted drone incursion into Pakistani airspace was followed by a rapid Pakistani military response involving air power and unmanned systems.
According to Pakistani security sources, eight drones launched from Afghanistan were intercepted and brought down after entering Pakistani airspace near Torkham and Kohat. Four were reportedly shot down near Torkham and another four near Kohat.
AI Actress Tilly Norwood Still Has No Agent
US Ambassador Sergio Gor Pays Obeisance at Golden Temple During Amritsar Visit
Major Shuffle in Military Intelligence
For more such Opinions & Blogs, click here.
Pakistan said its air-defence network detected, tracked, and neutralised the intruding platforms before they could reach their intended targets.
The response that followed was markedly different from a purely defensive reaction.
Pakistan announced on September 24 that it had conducted precision aerial and drone strikes against 10 locations inside Afghanistan that it said were being used for launching or storing drones.
This is significant because it demonstrates an emerging Pakistani concept of multi-domain retaliation: detect the incoming threat, defeat it inside Pakistani airspace, identify its source, and then strike the military infrastructure associated with that threat.
The Drone War Has Changed the Equation
Drones have transformed modern warfare. They are relatively inexpensive, difficult to detect depending on their size and flight profile, and can be employed for surveillance, attack, or one-way missions.
Pakistan itself has been rapidly expanding its indigenous unmanned arsenal.
In recent months, Pakistan's defense industry has publicly displayed several new unmanned systems. Heavy Industries Taxila, for example, has unveiled the D-248 and S-369 loitering munitions, while its new Unmanned Aerial Systems Factory has displayed a range of surveillance, strike and counter-UAS platforms.
The D-248 is particularly noteworthy. Open-source defense reporting gives it a claimed range of approximately 2,200–3,000 kilometers, although those performance figures have not been independently verified.
Thousands of Muslims Occupy Historic Shahi Mosque in Ujjain to Halt Partial Demolition
India's Tarang Shakti 2026 Air Exercise Begins in Jodhpur with US F35 Debut
Reports circulating following the September 24 strikes have also identified systems described as R-200 Eagle, D-248, and PAF's Dark Angel II among the unmanned platforms employed.
Ten Locations Under Attack
Pakistan's Information Ministry says the September 24 operation struck 10 locations in Afghanistan associated with the launching and storage of drones. Pakistan described the targets as military objectives directly linked to the attempted attacks against its territory.
“In exercise of its sovereign right to self-defence, Pakistan conducted precision aerial and drone strikes against 10 locations in Afghanistan used for launching and storing these drones,” Tarar said in a post on X.
The geography reported by Afghan officials included areas in Kandahar, Paktia, and Khost.
What About the Reported Afghan Aircraft and Helicopter Losses?
There have also been reports circulating on social media and defense forums claiming that Pakistani strikes destroyed Afghan military aviation assets, including an A-29 Super Tucano and at least one helicopter
At present, I would not present those losses as confirmed facts.
The Afghan air force historically operated the A-29 Super Tucano as a light-attack aircraft, while MD-530 helicopters were also used for close air support.
However, I have not found a sufficiently reliable independent source confirming that an A-29 was destroyed in the latest Pakistani operation, which is not verified officially
From Defensive Shield to Offensive Reach
Perhaps the most important development is conceptual.
Pakistan is demonstrating that its response to an unmanned attack does not necessarily end with shooting down the drone.
The sequence can potentially be:
Detection → Identification → Interception → Intelligence Exploitation → Target development → Precision strike.
That is the essence of modern multi-domain warfare.
Mohsin Naqvi Orders Intensified Crackdown on Cybercrime, Online Financial Fraud
Suicide Bombing at Police Checkpoint in Dera Ismail Khan Kills at Least 11
PTI-Government Standoff Needs an Amicable Solution
The growing availability of indigenous loitering munitions makes this approach considerably more economical than relying exclusively on expensive manned aircraft for every target.
The September 6 opening of HIT's new unmanned-systems facility illustrated how rapidly Pakistan's defence-industrial base is moving toward indigenous production of drones and loitering munitions.
Pakistan is therefore building not merely individual drones but an increasingly diversified unmanned warfare capability.
A Message Beyond the Battlefield
The Pakistani response also carries a strategic message.
For years, cross-border militant attacks have presented Pakistan with a difficult dilemma. Striking across the border carries diplomatic and escalation risks, while failing to respond can allow armed groups to operate with increasing confidence.
The present Pakistani approach appears designed to establish another principle:
An attack launched from Afghan territory will not necessarily remain confined to Afghan territory in terms of consequences.
That is precisely why the destruction of the incoming drones was only the first part of the response.
Pakistan's Information Ministry explicitly stated that Islamabad would defend its sovereignty and that further provocative actions would receive a firm response.
At the same time, Pakistan has said it remains committed to regional peace and dialogue and does not seek an uncontrolled escalation.
That distinction will become increasingly important.
The Danger of Escalation
Pakistan may possess the capability to strike targets deep inside Afghanistan, but military capability and strategic wisdom are not the same thing.
Pakistan PMs UN Response Exposes False Ask Modi Claim Circulating Online
Drunk Monkey Found Asleep in Ranchi Wine Shop After Helping Itself to the Stock
Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Remembered on His Birth Anniversary today
The border environment is extremely complicated. The Afghan Taliban government controls the territory, while TTP and other militant organisations operate within or around the broader security environment. Any major military exchange, therefore, carries risks of miscalculation, civilian casualties, and further escalation.
Indeed, after earlier Pakistani strikes on September 21, Afghan authorities reported civilian casualties while Pakistan claimed that militants had been killed. The conflicting accounts demonstrate why battlefield claims need independent verification.
The challenge for Pakistan is, therefore, not simply to demonstrate that it can strike.
Pakistan's air defense systems detected, tracked and neutralized all the drones before they could reach their intended targets, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said. CREDIT: aNews.
It is to demonstrate that it can strike selectively, accurately, and for a clearly defined strategic purpose while keeping escalation under control.
Pakistan Fights Back
The events of September 23–24, 2026, nevertheless mark an important moment in Pakistan's evolving military posture.
Afghan-origin drones entered Pakistani airspace.
Pakistan's air-defence system intercepted them.
Within hours, Pakistan announced precision strikes against 10 locations it identified as connected with the drone threat.
Whatever the ultimate political and diplomatic outcome, the episode demonstrates that the character of warfare on Pakistan's western frontier is changing.
The battlefield is no longer defined simply by infantry, artillery, and conventional air strikes.
It increasingly involves sensors, electronic warfare, air defense, autonomous systems, loitering munitions, precision weapons, and rapid intelligence-to-strike cycles.
Pakistan's expanding indigenous drone industry gives it another instrument in that contest.
The message emerging from the latest confrontation is, therefore, straightforward:
Pakistan will defend its airspace. Pakistan will defend its territory. When an attack crosses the border, Islamabad has demonstrated that its response may extend beyond the point where the attack began.
That is the new reality of the Pakistan–Afghanistan battlefield.
Pakistan has been attacked by drones. It has shot them down. And now, it has demonstrated that it can fight back.
For more such Opinions & Blogs, click here.
Dev Anands 103rd Birth Anniversary Today, Evergreen Bollywood Icon Remembered
Sharif Calls Threats to Makkah a ‘Red Line’ at UN
Sharif Warns India Over Indus Waters at UNGA
Early Sugar Exposure Linked to Adult Anxiety Risk
Scientists uncover hidden cell survival pathway
Punjab Government Buys Four New Bulletproof Mercedes Cars from Germany for Rs 84 Crore
Gen Z Shifts From Cardio to Strength Training
By Major (R) Haroon Rasheed. Defense & Strategic Analyst specializing in South Asian military dynamics, deterrence strategy, and defense modernization; Member, Research and Evaluation Cell for Advancing Basic Amenities and Development, Writer and Defense Contributor — Pakistan First & Pakistan Hamesha Zindabad.
Stay tuned to Baaghi TV for more. Download our app for the latest news, updates & uncensored content!
