Afghanistan Claims Pakistan Artillery Attack Kills Civilian in Border Violence

Afghan officials say Pakistani military forces used mortars and heavy weapons to attack civilian areas near the eastern city of Asadabad, resulting in one death and 16 injuries. The incident marks the latest escalation in cross-border fighting between the neighboring countries that has intensified since late February.

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan government officials are pointing fingers at Pakistan’s armed forces following a deadly artillery bombardment on Sunday that targeted civilian areas near an eastern Afghan city, leaving one person dead and more than a dozen injured in the ongoing border conflict between the two nations.

The current wave of hostilities, which began in late February, represents the most intense military confrontation between Afghanistan and Pakistan in several decades.

Pakistan maintains that Afghanistan is sheltering extremist fighters who launch attacks on Pakistani soil, particularly members of the Pakistani Taliban. This militant organization operates independently from but maintains close ties with the Afghan Taliban, which took control of Afghanistan in 2021 as U.S.-led coalition forces withdrew. Afghan authorities reject these accusations.

Afghan deputy government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat reported that “mortars and other heavy weaponry” struck countryside locations and residential buildings on Sunday afternoon around Asadabad in Kunar Province.

Fitrat shared on X, along with images showing injured children, that initial reports confirmed one fatality and 16 wounded individuals, primarily women and children. Pakistani officials have not yet responded to these allegations.

The military confrontation between the two countries has included repeated border skirmishes and aerial bombardments within Afghan territory, with several strikes reaching Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul.

This month, Afghan authorities reported that a Pakistani air assault targeted a drug rehabilitation facility in Kabul, resulting in over 400 deaths. The United Nations humanitarian office continues working to confirm the exact casualty count. Pakistan has challenged this account and rejected claims of deliberately attacking civilians, stating their target was a weapons storage facility.

The February violence began after Afghanistan conducted a cross-border military operation into Pakistan, claiming it was responding to fatal Pakistani air raids on Afghan border communities that allegedly killed only non-combatants. Pakistani officials maintained those strikes aimed at militant targets.

Pakistan announced last month it was engaged in “open war” with Afghanistan. This escalation has concerned the global community, especially given the region’s presence of other extremist groups, including al-Qaida and the Islamic State organization, which continue attempting to reestablish themselves.

Both nations agreed to a temporary ceasefire last week before the Muslim celebration of Eid al-Fitr, following diplomatic intervention by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar. That truce ended earlier this week, with fighting resuming Wednesday when Afghan authorities reported at least two civilian deaths in eastern Afghanistan.

Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have remained strained for months. The recent combat has disrupted a Qatar-brokered ceasefire from October that had stopped earlier confrontations between the countries, which had resulted in dozens of deaths among civilians, security personnel and militants. The two governments provide conflicting casualty statistics.

Diplomatic negotiations conducted in Istanbul during November were unsuccessful in achieving a lasting resolution.