'We're a technology-savvy army': DG ISPR voices confidence in Pakistan's operational readiness to drone warfare

Why This Matters

Key context: <p>Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has affirmed that Pakistan is “much ahead” in operational readiness compared to the Afghan Taliban and India, adding that the country’s military is adopting emerging technologies.</p> <p>The military spokesperson’s remarks, aired on local media on Sunday, were made during Friday’s wide-ranging <a rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="link--external" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/pakistan-military-cautiously-optimistic-iran-us-mediation-2026-10-30/">interview</a> with <em>Reuters</em>. The remarks focused on the ongoing tensions between Islamabad and Kabul.</p> <p>Replying to a query about whether Islamabad was worried about the use of drones by the Afghan Taliban considering their increased usage in the ongoing Middle East conflicts, the DG ISPR said, “It’s a narrow thing that I’ll be worried about the drones being used by Afghanistan.”</p> <p>He noted that the Afghan Taliban had no military capabilities of their own, but those “provided by the sponsors”. He accused the Afghan Taliban of being a “proxy” of India, which he described as the “biggest terror sponsor”.</p> <p>Lt Gen Chaudhry then recalled that during the May 2025 conflict with India, Pakistan had shot down <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1909700">dozens</a> of highly sophisticated drones sent from across the eastern border.</p> <figure class='media w-full sm:w-1/2 media--right media--embed media--uneven' data-original-src='https://www.dawn.com/news/1909385'> <div class='media__item media__item--newskitlink '> <iframe class="nk-iframe" width="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="height:250px;position:relative" src="https://www.dawn.com/news/card/1909385" sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-modals allow-forms"></iframe></div> </figure> <p>“So those drones, wherever they were, turned them into dust everywhere. That was about two years ago. So we are much ahead where we stand in our own operational readiness,” he said, expressing confidence in Pakistan’s military capabilities compared to India as well.</p> <p>The DG ISPR said that the Pakistani army was adapting itself in a “very professional, well-thought-out way with the changing character of warfare”.</p> <p>“Whether it’s in the non-contact, whether it’s in the contact warfare, whether it’s cyber, whether it is in the drones, long-range missions, so we are very cognisant of what capabilities we need for the present and also for the future.</p> <p>“But you have rightly pointed out that this proliferation of this non-contact warfare means to the non-state actors like the Taliban, <em>Khawarij</em>, and Houthis; they pose a threat to everyone. And the states will have to reconsider and re-evaluate their security architecture,” he stressed.</p> <p>Asked whether Pakistan used artificial intelligence to help identify targets in Afghanistan, Lt Gen Chaudhry said he could not discuss the specifics of how the military used AI, quantum technology, cyber technology, and multiple other technologies, but that they can and should be used.</p> <p>“We are a technology-savvy army,” he asserted.</p> <figure class='media w-full w-full media-- media--embed media--uneven media--tweet' data-original-src='https://x.com/RadioPakistan/status/2116898749012115751'> <div class='media__item media__item--twitter '><span> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <a href="https://twitter.com/RadioPakistan/status/2116898749012115751"></a> </blockquote> </span></div> </figure> <p>Islamabad has <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2006316/pakistan-demands-verifiable-non-reversible-action-by-afghan-taliban-against-terrorists-envoy-tells-unsc"><u>repeatedly urged</u></a> the Taliban administration in Kabul to dismantle terrorist sanctuaries on Afghan soil, particularly those linked to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP), that are used for attacks in Pakistan. Officials say those appeals have gone unheeded.</p> <p>For their part, the Afghan Taliban have avoided taking a categorical position on the TTP and other groups, while dismissing Islamabad’s stance that Afghanistan is being used as a base for attacks against Pakistan.</p> <h2><a id="afghanistan-has-only-two-products-terrorism-and-drugs" href="#afghanistan-has-only-two-products-terrorism-and-drugs" class="heading-permalink" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1" title="Permalink"></a>‘Afghanistan has only two products: terrorism and drugs’</h2> <p>Asked about allegations by the Afghan Taliban of Pakistan’s involvement in coordinating anti-Taliban elements, Lt Gen Chaudhry rejected them. “That’s how you play the victim card.”</p> <p>The DG ISPR noted, “They are apt at using non-state actors, militias, mercenaries, for their objectives. So they think everyone does that. We are a state. Afghanistan is not a state. It is still being run by a non-state actor. It’s a regime.”</p> <p>He noted decades of foreign interventions, including by the erstwhile Soviet Union and the United States, following which multiple “agencies and proxies” established roots in Afghanistan.</p> <p>He said Afghanistan was perhaps the only country in the recent past that had been affected by interventions for 40 to 45 years.</p> <figure class='media w-full sm:w-1/2 media--right media--embed media--uneven' data-original-src='https://www.dawn.com/news/1637909'> <div class='media__item media__item--newskitlink '> <iframe class="nk-iframe" width="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="height:250px;position:relative" src="https://www.dawn.com/news/card/1637909" sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-modals allow-forms"></iframe></div> </figure> <p>Lt Gen Chaudhry said: “The forces are gone physically, but still that front of Afghan Taliban is a proxy to multiple parties. In the case of Pakistan, the prime contractor is India. And the proxies are TTP and the BLA (Balochistan Liberation Army).</p> <p>“But there are others also,” he pointed out, naming East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), Jaish al-Adl, Al Qaeda, and Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP).</p> <p>“And this is not what I’m saying. [This] is what the United Nations reports and the intelligence assessments of the US and many other countries also say,” he stressed. “How could so many terrorist organisations, the whole alphabet, thrive over there?“</p> <p>The DG ISPR further questioned, “Why would <em>Reuters</em> or anyone take the words of a non-state actor so seriously?”</p> <p>He said the Afghan Taliban could “come out with anything”, recalling false claims made by them of capturing a Pakistani pilot and presenting their own tanks as captured Pakistani tanks.</p> <p>Responding to a question about whether isolating the Afghan Taliban could further harm the neighbouring country, particularly its farmers affected by cuts in foreign aid, Lt Gen Chaudhry voiced Pakistan’s opposition to isolating Afghanistan.</p> <p>“I fully agree. Who is saying that the world and the region need to isolate Afghanistan? No,” he said, adding that the international community should instead press them to “act like a state”.</p> <p>“What Afghanistan is producing right now, it has only two products: terrorism and drugs,” he said. “Both are not good for the world and the region and everyone. So that requires engagement.”</p> <figure class='media w-full w-full media-- media--embed media--uneven' data-original-src='https://www.dawn.com/news/2040685'> <div class='media__item media__item--newskitlink '> <iframe class="nk-iframe" width="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="height:250px;position:relative" src="https://www.dawn.com/news/card/2040685" sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-modals allow-forms"></iframe></div> </figure> <p>The military spokesperson noted that Pakistan was also engaging with its neighbour.</p> <p>“Pakistan is asking them that we have got nothing to do with you. You run your country the way you feel like. It’s for the Afghans to decide. We only ask you that don’t support terrorism inside Pakistan. Stop harbouring the terrorist leaders,” he reiterated.</p> <h2><a id="principal-obstacle-to-normal-relations" href="#principal-obstacle-to-normal-relations" class="heading-permalink" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1" title="Permalink"></a>‘Principal obstacle to normal relations’</h2> <p>A day earlier, the information ministry stressed that the “Taliban regime’s persistent refusal to address terrorism remains the principal obstacle to normal relations”, objecting to Kabul’s portrayal of the issue.</p> <p>“The Taliban leadership continues to blame Islamabad’s policies while conveniently ignoring the single most important issue poisoning bilateral relations: its persistent failure to address terrorism emanating from Afghan soil,” it said.</p> <figure class='media w-full sm:w-1/2 media--right media--embed media--uneven' data-original-src='https://www.dawn.com/news/2041221/pakistan-slams-afghan-taliban-for-shifting-blame-persistent-refusal-to-address-terrorism-issues'> <div class='media__item media__item--newskitlink '> <iframe class="nk-iframe" width="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="height:250px;position:relative" src="https://www.dawn.com/news/card/2041221" sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-modals allow-forms"></iframe></div> </figure> <p>Multiple rounds of talks between the two sides last year — facilitated by <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1949845"><u>Qatar</u></a> and <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1951149"><u>Turkiye</u></a> — <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1951912#:~:text=the%20Afghan%20side%20gave%20no%20assurance"><u>failed</u></a> to bring about any workable solution, with the Pakistani government saying the Taliban officials gave no assurances on the key issues. Efforts this year made with <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1989918"><u>China’s involvement</u></a> also resulted in no breakthrough.</p> <p>Russia, the only country to have formally recognised the Taliban government, has also recently renewed its offer to facilitate a settlement if both sides request its involvement.</p> <p>When asked about it earlier this month, Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2037780">said</a> he was “not aware of any separate, formal Russian mediation initiative being under discussion”.</p> <p>He said talks with Afghanistan could not be unconditional and rejected suggestions that Islamabad was unwilling to engage with its neighbour.</p> <figure class='media w-full sm:w-1/2 media--right media--embed media--uneven' data-original-src='https://www.dawn.com/news/2040633/moscows-afghan-outreach'> <div class='media__item media__item--newskitlink '> <iframe class="nk-iframe" width="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="height:250px;position:relative" src="https://www.dawn.com/news/card/2040633" sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-modals allow-forms"></iframe></div> </figure> <p>September witnessed <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2037853/security-forces-respond-to-unprovoked-firing-by-afghan-taliban-along-kurram-border-state-media#:~:text=discussion%2C%E2%80%9D%20Khan%20said.-,Pak%2DAfghan%20tensions,-Ties%20between%20the"><u>another bout of conflict</u></a> between the two neighbours, with Pakistan carrying out calibrated airstrikes in the border region in response to <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2031031"><u>terrorist attacks</u></a> in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.</p> <p>This was followed by <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2032066/"><u>drone incursions</u></a> from across the border, which Islamabad said were shot down, and two further <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2033937/calibrated-air-strikes-target-terrorist-hideouts-at-two-locations-in-afghanistan-info-ministry"><u>rounds</u></a> of <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2032261/pakistan-conducted-strikes-at-10-locations-in-afghanistan-in-response-to-recent-drone-attacks-info-minister"><u>retaliatory</u></a> airstrikes.</p> <p>Those skirmishes continued in October, with Pakistani security forces responding to unprovoked fire from the Afghan side along the border in <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2037853/security-forces-respond-to-unprovoked-firing-by-afghan-taliban-along-kurram-border-state-media"><u>Kurram</u></a> and Lower South Waziristan’s <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2040360/one-killed-five-injured-by-afghan-firing-near-angoor-adda"><u>Angoor Adda</u></a>, according to security sources.</p> This development from dawn.com highlights ongoing changes in the sector.