Pakistan Shoots Down 8 Drones Launched From Afghanistan Near Torkham and Kohat, Calls It 'Unlawful Incursion'

Pakistani armed forces and Pakistan Air Force air-defence units shot down eight drones launched from Afghan Taliban-controlled territory on the morning of September 23, 2026, before any reached their intended targets. Four drones were downed in areas adjoining the Torkham border crossing and four more in mountainous terrain near Kohat city — roughly 7km from Kohat — days after the September 18 Kohat Police Lines mosque bombing that killed 31. Pakistani security sources said the armed forces and the Pakistan Air Force's 'Shaheens' had 'professionally thwarted the Afghan Taliban regime's cowardly attempt to target public areas,' with radar and air-defence systems detecting, tracking and neutralising all intruding platforms. Pakistan's government called the incursion a 'blatant violation' of its sovereignty and territorial integrity and a 'grave and unacceptable act of aggression,' saying it 'condemns in the strongest possible terms the deliberate and unlawful incursion into Pakistan by drones on September 23, launched from Afghan territory.' Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied Wednesday that Afghan Taliban forces had carried out any attacks. Pakistan cited the drone incursion, together with overnight shelling of its border posts, as the trigger for its September 24 airstrikes on 10 sites in Afghanistan.