Pakistan Police Deploy Fishing Nets as Low-Cost Shield Against Drone Attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Police in northwestern Pakistan have turned to an unexpected weapon in their battle against armed groups: fishing nets. In Hangu district, one of the most volatile areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, security outposts are now draped with heavy nets strung metres overhead to intercept drones and quadcopters carrying explosives, according to officials and officers interviewed at the scene.

The improvised defence was introduced about two months ago and represents a pragmatic response to an evolving threat. Armed groups operating in the region, particularly Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), have increasingly paired conventional ground assaults with unmanned aerial vehicles rigged with bombs, forcing police to rethink how they protect fixed positions that are difficult to move or reinforce quickly.

The measure came after a series of devastating attacks. On April 16, drones dropped explosives on the Sarki Piyala police checkpost in Hangu, roughly 30 kilometres from the Afghan border. Fighters then opened fire from multiple directions. The confrontation lasted about seven hours, killing the driver of an armoured vehicle and wounding a constable. A 40-year-old police inspector stationed there described the fear of being caught in the middle of a battle with no certainty of survival.

That attack was claimed by the TTP, which says it is fighting to establish a Taliban-style, religiously driven government in Pakistan. The group has been blamed for many of the armed assaults that have risen sharply across the country in recent years, with police and military personnel bearing the brunt. Pakistani officials have repeatedly accused Kabul's Taliban administration of giving the TTP safe haven on Afghan soil and have demanded it stop cross-border attacks. Kabul has denied the allegations, calling the violence Islamabad's domestic security problem.

The netting system, simple in construction and resembling gear used by fishermen, forms what officers describe as an aerial ceiling. It is stretched between the rooftops and perimeter walls of checkposts. Police say that if a drone flies over, it may become entangled and disabled. Even if the device detonates above the net, they believe the blast's shrapnel and fragments would disperse in the air rather than rain directly down on personnel below.

A standard checkpost can be covered for approximately 400,000 Pakistani rupees, or about $1,435, according to Hangu district police officer Tariq Habib. He said the system has been installed at vulnerable police stations and checkposts to reduce the impact of drone and quadcopter attacks, and that more nets are being added across the district. The local force has requested additional funding from the provincial government to expand the programme, and that request is under review.

The approach has already spread beyond Hangu. A spokesman for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police said the nets have been installed at checkpoints and police posts in at least five other vulnerable districts: Kohat, Karak, Bannu, Lakki Marwat and Dera Ismail Khan. Even military outposts at some sites in the province have adopted the anti-drone netting, signalling that the tactic is being taken seriously beyond local police circles.

Officers on the ground credit the nets with deterring attacks. Police inspector Fayyaz Khan said no drone attacks have occurred at Sarki Piyala since the netting went up. Another officer, Zeeshan Khan, said neither Sarki Piyala nor the nearby Baliamena checkpost has experienced a drone or quadcopter strike since installation. He described the nets as providing an extra layer of security and estimated they could reduce potential losses by 40 to 50 percent if an attack does occur.

The threat driving these measures is severe. On July 29, attackers stormed a police outpost in Hangu using quadcopters rigged with bombs before launching a ground ambush. At least 11 police officers were killed and 28 wounded. Fifteen attackers also died in the hours-long assault, which was claimed by the TTP. On September 20, another exchange of fire in Hangu killed six soldiers and eight attackers, according to the Pakistani army.

Two days before that, a separate armed group called Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan carried out coordinated attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Kohat district, killing 23 people, including 16 police officers, and bombing a mosque. Police say they have recorded at least 16 attacks in Hangu this year alone, making it one of the most sensitive districts in the province and explaining why local commanders are eager to scale up any measure that appears to work.

The conflict has reshaped daily life for residents living near the checkposts. The constant presence of security forces, the sound of gunfire and explosions, and the fear of being caught in crossfire have become part of the routine for communities in Hangu. The new netting, while welcomed by police as a protective measure, also serves as a visible reminder of the persistent danger that surrounds these outposts.

The fishing-net solution highlights a broader reality facing Pakistani security forces: armed groups are adapting their tactics faster than conventional defences can keep pace. Drones and quadcopters are relatively cheap, easy to obtain and difficult to intercept with traditional means. For a police force operating in rugged terrain with limited resources, an inexpensive mesh barrier offers a practical, if improvised, countermeasure that can be deployed quickly across many vulnerable sites.

While the netting is not a comprehensive answer to drone warfare, it reflects the kind of locally driven innovation that often emerges when formal military-grade defences are unavailable or too costly. Whether the programme expands further will depend largely on funding decisions by the provincial government. For now, officers in Hangu say the nets have bought them something invaluable in a conflict zone: a measure of protection and, at least at some checkposts, a halt to the drone strikes that once came without warning.