Pakistan Rejects Afghan Drone Strike Claims, Says It Downed Intruding Drone
ISLAMABAD – The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has rejected claims from Afghan Taliban-linked sources alleging drone strikes on militant targets inside Pakistan, describing them as “false” and part of a propaganda campaign.
In a statement, the ministry asserted that numerous terrorist organizations, including the regional branch of the so-called Islamic State (Daesh), are factually located, run, and patronized from within territories under the control of the Afghan Taliban administration. The ministry accused the Taliban regime of issuing “fake and nefarious statements” to conceal its patronage of terrorism waged in neighboring countries.
Instead, Pakistani authorities reported that a “rudimentary” or “low-grade” drone launched from Afghanistan intruded into Pakistani airspace near the Shinko area of Khyber District. The aircraft was immediately identified and neutralized by the Pakistan Air Force’s air defense systems. The ministry also shared an image of what it said was the downed drone.
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Updated: 5:14 PM PKT — June 19, 2026
Further details have emerged regarding the recent incursion of an Afghan drone into Pakistani airspace. The Ministry of Information specified that the “low-grade” drone entered Pakistani territory near Shinko in the Khyber district. It was promptly identified and successfully neutralized by the Pakistan Air Force’s vigilant air defense system. This clarification comes as the ministry continues to refute claims by the Afghan Taliban administration of conducting strikes inside Pakistan, labeling them as false propaganda designed to conceal its patronage of terrorist groups.
Updated: 4:11 PM PKT — June 19, 2026
The Afghan Taliban’s defence ministry claimed via social media that its forces launched “air strikes” against alleged Daesh hideouts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting strongly refuted the claims, terming them “false as usual” and part of a propaganda campaign to conceal Afghanistan’s patronage of over two dozen terrorist organizations operating from its soil.
In a clarification, the ministry stated that in fact, a single “rudimentary drone” belonging to the Taliban regime had intruded into Pakistani airspace near the Shinko area of Khyber. The drone was “immediately identified and neutralized by the alert Air defence system of Pakistan Air Force.”
