Peshawar: Militant groups have opened a new operational front in Peshawar by weaponising off the shelf commercial drones to strike police infrastructure from several kilometres away. At least two aerial attacks have hit capital installations in recent weeks, including a strike on the Tarnab post that injured four individuals, followed 72 hours later by a targeted drone strike on a police station in Mattani.
While protective metal mesh sheets limited damage during the Mattani incident, senior officers acknowledge that remote aerial strikes present a severe challenge to isolated checkpoints bordering Khyber, Mohmand, and Dara Adamkhel.
Police data reveals that over 250 attempted drone attacks were reported across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa between January and July 2026, spanning regions such as Malakand, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, and Bajaur.
Despite constraints in deploying high tech anti drone equipment across all 34 police stations and 84 check posts in Peshawar, Capital City Police Chief Dr Mian Saeed confirmed that counter drone systems and thermal imaging are being deployed at critical sites, while standard operating procedures are being updated to safeguard personnel against aerial surveillance and strikes.
