Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have escalated once again. The Taliban-led government in Kabul has alleged that Pakistani mortar and rocket fire struck civilian areas in Kunar province, including an educational institution, leaving at least four people dead. Islamabad has rejected the claims, calling them fabricated.
According to Taliban officials, the strikes targeted homes as well as the Syed Jamaluddin Afghani University in Kunar province’s Asadabad. The Taliban’s deputy spokesperson, Hamdullah Fitrat, said around 70 people were injured, including nearly 30 students, women and children.
“We strongly condemn these attacks by the Pakistani military regime, in which ordinary people, academics, and educational institutions were targeted, and declare them unforgivable war crimes,” he said in a post on X. Afghan media reports cited similar claims.
The incident marks a sharp break from the relative calm that followed recent talks mediated by China in Urumqi. That process had encouraged both sides to dial down rhetoric.
PAKISTAN REJECTS ALLEGATIONS
Pakistan’s information ministry denied any involvement in the attacks. In a statement on X, it said: “Whenever and wherever Pakistan strikes the Afghan-based terror infrastructure, it will be as per previous actions, well declared, fully owned and backed by precise evidence of targeting terror support infrastructure.”
It rejected reports of attacks on civilian areas and accused Afghan media of spreading misinformation to deflect attention from militant activity.
“The pattern is a page of the old play book where Afghan media creates fake news to cover up the support to terrorist groups and proxies like the Fitna al Khwarij (Pakistani Taliban),” the ministry said.
TENSIONS SURGE AFTER RECENT CLASHES
The latest incident comes against the backdrop of months of worsening relations. Since February, both sides have exchanged artillery fire, air strikes and drone attacks in the most intense phase of conflict in years between the neighbours. Fresh accusations of cross-border attacks now threaten to undo weeks of fragile diplomatic progress.
Islamabad has accused Kabul of giving safe haven to militants who carry out attacks inside Pakistan. The Taliban government has rejected the allegation, saying the violence within Pakistan is its own internal issue.
A major flashpoint occurred last month when the Taliban claimed that a Pakistani strike on a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul killed more than 400 people. Pakistan rejected that assertion, stating it had “precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure.” The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan later estimated the death toll at 143.
China’s mediation had, for a time, offered a way out of the standoff, after both sides agreed earlier this month to look at solution to the conflict. A fragile ceasefire followed, and Taliban officials are said to have avoided open criticism of Pakistan to keep the talks on track.
That restraint now appears to have ended. Even during the ceasefire, violence did not stop. Pakistani officials said three people were killed in Bajaur on April 18 in mortar shelling they attributed to Afghan forces.
With inputs from agencies
