3 injured in terrorist drone attack on cricket ground in K-P's Bajaur
Photo: Radio Pakistan/ File
At least three people were injured in a terrorist drone attack on a cricket ground in the Mamund area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's Bajaur district on Friday, according to state media.
According to state broadcaster PTV News, the attack was carried out using a quadcopter in the Shahi Tangi area of Mamund tehsil while a cricket match was in progress. The injured were immediately taken to a hospital for treatment.
Read: Five injured in Afghan cross-border shelling
It said that a press release issued by the Bajaur deputy commissioner said that over the past two months, mortar shells had been fired from the Afghan side into various border areas of the district, particularly Mamund and Slarzai.
It added that firing by the Afghan Taliban on the civilian population in Bajaur had resulted in the martyrdom of nine people, including three women and six children.
Local sources said quadcopters were being used to target civilians to spread fear and panic, adding that video evidence of such incidents had surfaced previously. They said the attack was deliberately timed during the cricket match.
فتنہ الخوارج کی بلا اشتعال جارحیت ،خیبرپختونخوا کی شہری آبادی پربزدلانہ حملوں کا تسلسل جاری
باجوڑ کے علاقے ماموند میں خوارج کی جانب سے کرکٹ گراؤنڈ پر کواڈ کاپٹر سے حملہ کیا گیا، جس کے نتیجے میں 3 افراد زخمی ہوئے۔
بزدلانہ حملے میں زخمی ہونے والے افراد کو فوری طور پر اسپتال… pic.twitter.com/qDWR8CC8wr“Such attacks reflect an inability to confront security forces directly, with civilians being targeted instead,” the state broadcaster said, while adding that public anger was growing due to repeated incidents against civilian populations.
Following the incident, security in the area was placed on high alert. Security forces cordoned off the site and launched a search operation to track down those involved.
“Security forces are conducting an effective response against such attacks, targeting militant positions and supporting infrastructure,” PTV News reported.
Tribal elders and residents strongly condemned the attack and demanded the complete elimination of terrorists to ensure public safety.
Also Read: Pakistan Army responds to unprovoked aggression by Afghan Taliban: security sources
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar condemned today's incident.
"The inhuman violent spate of deliberate targeting of innocent civilians by Afghans Taliban regime in border districts of K-P is unacceptable, insidious and reflective of their barbaric nature towards human life. Resorting to targeting civilian areas after being comprehensively beaten on ground by proud security forces of Pakistan and having no courage to face them is not only despicable but also speaks volumes of the low moral character of the regime leaders."
He said the Taliban regime's "so-called representatives continue to lay frivolous false allegations of deliberate targeting of civilians by Pakistan".
Tarar said it was "reported with a lot of clarity and evidence that Pakistan targets only terrorist infrastructure and information has been always promptly and transparently shared with the public, whenever Pakistan targets terrorist hideouts and support infrastructure under areas controlled by Afghan Taliban regime, while taking great care for any sort of civilian damage".
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
Earlier this week, security forces carried out retaliatory strikes at key sites, including the Ariana Complex, Dabgai check post, police headquarters, and Zakarkhel post, which were destroyed.
Pakistan Air Force also targeted positions in Laghman province, destroying an arms depot, the ABF battalion headquarters, and the Nangarhar brigade. Sources further said a Taliban post near the Mohmand sector was also destroyed, stressing that only Afghan military targets were hit in line with international law.
On April 15, three civilians, including two children, were martyred and three others were injured when Afghan Taliban forces carried out unprovoked shelling on locals in a border area of K-P's Bajaur district, according to state media.
The incident marked a renewed episode of cross-border aggression after a gap of over a month, following Operation Ghazab Lil Haq, launched in response to earlier unprovoked hostility from the Afghan side.
Operation Ghazab Lil Haq was launched around the end of February following renewed clashes along the Pak-Afghan border, after Afghan Taliban forces fired on multiple locations, prompting swift military retaliation by Pakistan.
Read: 13 terrorists neutralised in two infiltration bids on K-P's Pak-Afghan border: ISPR
The neighbouring countries were engaged in escalating hostilities along the frontier since then. The clashes intensified after Afghanistan launched a border offensive in response to Pakistani air strikes targeting terrorist positions and abated during a temporary ceasefire on the occasion of Eidul Fitr.
The escalation in tensions between the two countries followed a series of tit-for-tat actions over the past year.
Pakistan earlier carried out air strikes targeting camps of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State Khorasan Province inside Afghanistan after a wave of attacks, including a suicide bombing in Islamabad.
Islamabad has long maintained that TTP leaders operate from Afghan territory, an allegation that Kabul has repeatedly denied.
Tensions also surged after a series of explosions in Kabul on October 9 last year. Taliban forces subsequently targeted areas along Pakistan's border, prompting Islamabad to respond with cross-border shelling.
The exchanges caused casualties and infrastructure damage on both sides and led to the suspension of trade after border crossings were closed on October 12, 2025.