ISLAMABAD: Security sources said on Friday that two rudimentary drones were intercepted at different locations adjacent to Rawalpindi but were successfully brought down through electronic countermeasures.
Security sources said that no damage or casualties were reported and the airspace, which was temporarily closed as a precaution, had now been reopened.
Separately, the Ministry of Information posted on X that “two rudimentary drones of terrorist Fitna-al-Khawarij, nurtured by the Afghan Taliban regime, were successfully intercepted by the Pakistan security forces using electronic countermeasures”.
It added that “no military or other infrastructure was hit, other than minor damage due to debris of the forced crashing of drones”, dismissing claims made in a post by the Afghan defence ministry on X.
It was claimed in the post that a centre of Pakistan’s military had been targeted at Faizabad, resulting in the loss of human lives, as well as material losses.
The information ministry said: “The Taliban regime’s claim includes no verifiable evidence as always. However, [it] fully exposes its established role as master proxy of terrorism harbouring and supporting multiple terrorist organisations such as Indian proxies Fitna-al-Khawarij and Fitna-al-Hindustan.”
Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan while Fitna al Hindustan is a term designated by the state for terrorist organisations in Balochistan.
The information ministry further stated: “The Taliban regime’s official accounts, including this so-called Ministry of Defence account, are known to regularly proliferate fake news and propaganda, including recent frivolous claims of shooting down Pakistan Air Force aircraft and capturing pilots, which they unashamedly later deleted.”
Earlier, the Pakistan Airports Authority said in a post on X — that has since been deleted — that flight operations at Islamabad International Airport experienced a “brief operational adjustment”.
The statement had come after multiple media outlets reported that Islamabad International Airport had been closed for flights.
In a later statement, however, the authority said that reports circulating about the closure of Islamabad’s airspace were “baseless”.
“Flight operations at Islamabad International Airport are continuing without interruption and all flights are operating according to schedule,” it said.
“The public is advised not to pay attention to unverified or misleading reports and to rely on official sources of PAA for authentic information,” it said.
