Pakistan's new anti-drone fix: Cover army posts with fishing nets

Pakistan's latest weapon to take down drones isn't a missile or a radar system. It's the humble fishing net. Security forces near the Afghanistan border are using the simple mesh to shield military and police posts from drone attacks by the Pakistani Taliban.

In Short

• Pakistan uses fishing nets to protect military posts from TTP drone attacks
• Defence experts warn these nets offer false security
• Pakistan faced over 400 drone attacks in first half of 2026

Pakistan army chief Asim Munir seems to have come up with a bizarre fix to protect military posts near Afghanistan from drone attacks - fishing nets. Amid escalating drone attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the army has started covering vulnerable police and military checkpoints with fishing nets, according to a report in Al Jazeera.

Fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan has escalated in recent weeks after nearly three months of uneasy calm. Behind it is Pakistan's longstanding grouse - accusing Kabul of giving safe haven to the TTP, also known as the Pakistani Taliban. While Afghanistan has denied the charge, Pakistan has alleged that the TTP has been behind a series of attacks on its security forces.

TTP DRONE ATTACKS RATTLE PAKISTAN

It was after one such attack in April in Hangu district, about 30 km from the Afghanistan border, that the Pakistani army decided to go fishing. Not for fish. But to catch enemy drones.

On April 16, drones bombarded the Sarki Piyala police checkpost before TTP fighters opened fire on the security personnel. It left one dead and dozens injured.

It was not the first time that Hangu has been attacked. Due to its proximity to the Afghan border, the district has been a hotbed of deadly drone attacks. Hangu has faced 16 attacks this year.

In fact, the condition is so dire that Pakistani security personnel do not leave their barracks without security cover, the report said.

However, instead of installing anti-drone systems, cash-strapped Pakistan has decided to use fishing nets as a jugaad. They have installed these nets overhead, between the checkpost's rooftops and perimeter walls.

In fact, a checkpost can be covered with such nets for about $1,400 (Rs 1.30 lakh). Anti-drone systems, on the other hand, can cost anywhere between $5,000 and $5,000,000.

Over the past few months, these fishing nets have been installed in military outposts across five districts - Kohat, Karak, Bannu, Lakki Marwat and Dera Ismail Khan - along the Afghanistan border.

WHY IS PAKISTAN USING FISHING NETS?

The logic behind the bizarre idea is to snag a drone's propellers in the nets before it can release the explosives.

"If a drone comes over the checkpoint, there is a possibility that it could get caught in the net and be defused or stopped," Fayyaz Khan, a police officer, told Al Jazeera.

"Even if a drone does not get caught and explodes above the net, the damage is expected to be much less because most of the shrapnel and fragments would be dispersed in the air rather than falling directly onto the ground," he further said.

However, defence experts have warned that fishing nets were far from a complete solution and could offer a "false sense of security".

"Deploying nets is an immature, cheap ploy because police stations are not necessarily always the target," Imtiaz Gul of the Centre for Research and Security Studies told Al Jazeera.

"The drones are intended to hit prominent locations and generate dramatic optics," he said. Gul flagged that the pressing need for Pakistan was to intercept these drones as soon as they take to the air.

Pakistan relies on Chinese and Turkish anti-drone systems to guard against rogue UAVs. However, last year's Operation Sindoor exposed their vulnerabilities. To plug the gap, Pakistan has now turned to US-based Powerus, a firm linked to Donald Trump's sons, for its anti-drone system.

Even the security personnel know that having fishing nets was no foolproof solution. It only offers some reassurance. "We cannot say that the netting system provides complete protection," Khan said.

PAKISTAN TALIBAN'S DRONE WARFARE

Behind the panic in Pakistan is TTP's changing warfare tactics. Cheap drones have become a vital part of TTP's attack toolkit.

In December 2025, the group formed a special drone unit led by Maulvi Saleem Haqqani. It mostly relies on readily available, relatively inexpensive, and easy-to-modify commercial drones.

Over the past couple of years, the TTP has steadily improved its proficiency in using quadcopter drones. According to research by Global Network on Extremism and Technology, the TTP is using "Honda motorcycle batteries" to power drones for longer periods.

According to a report in The Dawn, Pakistan has claimed to have foiled 341 drone attacks in the first half of 2026 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Another 100 drone attacks have killed around 30 security personnel and left 90 injured.

It has thoroughly exposed gaps in Pakistan's counter-terror response. With Pakistan playing catch-up against the militant group, it seems to have turned to the humble fishing net to shield its military.

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