'Significant development': Pakistan deploys first homemade drone, kills three militants

Pakistan’s military on Monday said it had for the first time deployed a locally-manufactured drone to kill three Islamist insurgents in its restive northwest, in what one analyst termed a “significant development” for the country’s defence capabilities.

Pakistan announced the successful test flight of the ‘Burraq’ drone, which is capable of delivering laser-guided missiles, in March, joining a handful of other countries in possessing the technology.

“1st ever use of Pak(istan) made Burraq Drone today. Hit a terrorist compound in Shawal Valley killing 3 high profile terrorists,” Pakistani military spokesman Major General Asim Bajwa said on Twitter.

The Shawal valley, situated in the lawless North Waziristan tribal district that borders Afghanistan, has been the scene of some of the fiercest fighting between Pakistani forces and the Taliban since the launch of a massive military operation there last June.

The area is off-limits to journalists and it was impossible to verify the military’s claims independently.

So far, the United States, Israel, Great Britain and Pakistan have used armed drones in combat, according to a report by the New America Foundation, though several other countries are developing their own programmes including Pakistan’s arch-rival India.

Pakistan’s unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) “bear resemblance to Chinese armed Rainbow CH-3 drones,” according to the report.