By The South Asia Times

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's military on Saturday said that it intercepted Afghan Taliban "rudimentary drones" at three different locations across the country, in what it described as an attempt to harass civilians, as cross-border tensions between the two neighbors continued to escalate.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Pakistan's military media wing, stated that the drones were intercepted through "soft and hard kills" and did not reach their intended targets. However, debris from the downed drones caused injuries to four civilians, including two children in the southwestern city of Quetta, and one civilian each in Kohat and the garrison city of Rawalpindi, adjacent to the capital Islamabad.

"These attacks were aimed at inducing fear in the public and remind us of the terrorist mindset which drives the Afghan Taliban," the ISPR statement read . The military characterized the Afghan rulers as a "terrorist militia-for-hire," alleging that they project victimhood to garner global sympathy while simultaneously targeting civilians through proxies and drones .

The state came just a day after the Afghan Defense Ministry claimed it had retaliated against Pakistani airstrikes by targeting Pakistani military centers in the Kohat area.

Pakistan had earlier conducted airstrikes inside Afghanistan on March 12-13, which it said targeted terrorist hideouts and infrastructure linked to groups operating against Pakistan.

Security sources reported that strikes hit facilities, including what they described as a terrorist camp in Kandahar and installations in Kabul, destroying an oil storage site at Kandahar Airfield.

Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar rejected Afghan claims of civilian casualties, stating that Pakistan "precisely targeted only those installations which directly or indirectly support terrorism from inside Afghanistan and terrorist camps".

The ISPR reaffirmed that Operation Ghazab-lil-Haq would continue "till the Afghan Taliban address Pakistan's core concern with respect to terrorism originating from Afghan soil". The operation, whose name translates to "Righteous Fury," was launched in late February following renewed clashes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

According to Pakistan Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, the operation has so far resulted in the deaths of 663 Afghan Taliban operatives, with over 887 injured. Pakistani forces have reportedly destroyed 249 Afghan posts and captured 44 others, along with destroying 224 tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery guns.

Pakistan has long accused Afghanistan's Taliban rulers of harboring and supporting militant groups that launch cross-border attacks, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad refers to as Fitna al-Khawarij. Kabul denies the charges.