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Pakistan intercepts drones near Rawalpindi as authorities dismiss reports of Islamabad airport closure

By The South Asia Times

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan’s security forces intercepted and brought down couple rudimentary drones near Rawalpindi on Friday, according to security sources, while aviation authorities denied reports that Islamabad airport had been closed.

Security sources said two drones were detected near Rawalpindi and were neutralized using electronic countermeasures. The drones were intercepted without causing damage, sources said.

Airspace restrictions were briefly imposed as a precautionary measure, but were later lifted.

Separately, Pakistan’s civil aviation authorities rejected reports circulating on local television channels that Islamabad International Airport had been shut down.

A spokesman for the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority said the airport remained fully operational and that flight operations were continuing normally.

“Reports about the closure of Islamabad’s airspace are baseless,” the spokesman said, urging the public not to pay attention to misinformation.

The incident comes amid heightened tensions following claims by the Afghan Taliban’s defense ministry and broadcaster TOLO News that the Taliban Air Force had carried out retaliatory strikes on Pakistani military targets in Kohat, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Information rejected those claims, saying initial investigations showed that three crude drones had been launched by militants linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan with alleged backing from the Afghan Taliban.

According to officials, the drones appeared to be commercially available surveillance drones modified to carry explosives. All were neutralized by Pakistan’s electronic warfare systems before reaching their targets, though two civilians were injured by falling debris.

Authorities accused the Afghan Taliban of spreading false claims about successful strikes, describing the reports as propaganda intended to create a misleading narrative about the incident.