RAWALPINDI - The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) has exposed a critical contradiction that confirms India's deep involvement in arming the Afghan Taliban regime. While the Afghan Taliban lacks any indigenous drone manufacturing capability, sophisticated drones are appearing on the battlefield - a gap that can only be bridged by foreign state sponsorship .
In a recent interview, Director General ISPR Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry posed a question that cuts to the heart of the matter: "There is no drone manufacturing facility in Afghanistan, so which country is providing them?"
This statement confirms Pakistan's long-standing position: Afghanistan cannot produce drones domestically. The country's industrial infrastructure, crippled by decades of conflict and international isolation, cannot support the development of modern unmanned aerial systems .
Yet, the Afghan Taliban continues to launch drone attacks against Pakistan, including rudimentary drones that have injured civilians in Quetta, Kohat, and Rawalpindi . The Taliban's own minister of education has called for training specialists to build drones, but the regime remains dependent on external sources for technology and components .
The question, then, is who is supplying these drones? Pakistan's military has identified the source: India.
The DG ISPR has explicitly stated that drones used against Pakistan are being provided to the Afghan Taliban by India . This is not speculative; it is based on verified intelligence, including records and footage of targeted drone storage facilities in Kabul .
Intelligence assessments suggest that India has been transferring these drones in unassembled form through indirect routes to avoid international scrutiny and maintain plausible deniability regarding direct military assistance to Kabul .
The evidence is mounting:
Direct Accusations: Pakistan's military leadership has repeatedly named India as the source of drones in Afghanistan .
Physical Evidence: On at least one occasion, an Israeli-made Heron UAV, operated by India, crashed in Afghanistan's Maidan Wardak province, corroborating intelligence reports of Indian-supplied drones in the region .
Indian Proxy Network: The DG ISPR has also stated that the Afghan Taliban regime, which is the master proxy of all terrorist proxies, has been acting in coordination with the TTP and Fitna al-Hindustan, armed with quadcopters and heavy weaponry .
The timing of the DG ISPR's revelations is significant. It comes as India continues to project itself as a humanitarian partner in Afghanistan. However, Pakistan's military officials argue that this is a cover for a deeper, more sinister agenda.
By using the name of aid, India is sending advanced military technology to the Taliban, enabling cross-border attacks against Pakistan . This is not humanitarian assistance; it is state-sponsored terrorism by proxy.
Despite lacking a formal industry, the Taliban has expressed a clear desire to develop indigenous drone capabilities, reportedly drawing on the experiences of Turkiye, China, Russia, and Iran . This includes a reported crash in Logar province in April 2026 of a drone assembled by the Taliban, based on the Iranian "Shahed" series .
The regime is reportedly assembling drones at Camp Phoenix on the outskirts of Kabul and testing them at a site in Logar province . They are referencing platforms like the US MQ-9 Reaper and Iranian Shahed-136 for benchmarking .
However, the success of these programs depends on external support. Without foreign suppliers providing parts, technology, and training, the Taliban cannot sustain its drone program or conduct the kind of complex cross-border attacks it has attempted .
The evidence is clear: Afghanistan lacks a domestic drone industry. The only logical source of the sophisticated drones being used against Pakistan is external state sponsorship. Pakistan's military has identified India as that source, a claim supported by the presence of Indian-supplied drones crashing in Afghanistan and the Taliban's use of Indian-provided technology.
The DG ISPR's statement is not just a warning. It is a confirmation that India, through its proxy network, is actively arming the Afghan Taliban regime for use against Pakistan - a reality the international community can no longer ignore.
