Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban, on Monday (April 27, 2026), accused Pakistan of launching cross-border mortar strikes and rocket attacks in eastern Kunar province that killed at least four people and left dozens of others injured.
The reported Pakistani attacks have escalated the already simmering tensions at the border with Afghanistan, amidst fragile peace talks and an uneasy ceasefire.
Taliban’s Deputy Spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said the Pakistani attacks targeted civilian areas in Asadabad, the capital of Kunar province, where at least 45 people were wounded, including students, women, and children, when the Sayed Jamaluddin Afghani University and nearly homes came under the artillery strikes.
“We strongly condemn these attacks by the Pakistani military regime, in which ordinary people, academic, and educational institutions were targeted, and declare them unforgivable war crimes,” Fitrat said in a statement.
Pakistan, however, rejected the Afghan Taliban’s charges. The Information Ministry, in an X post, called the Taliban’s claim a “blatant lie” and said any Pakistani action would be “well declared” and be based on evidence to target militant infrastructure.
Pakistan also claimed that at least three civilians were injured in South Waziristan during a firefight, describing the incident as one of the most serious clashes since a ceasefire was agreed to with Afghanistan in March 2026.
The fresh escalation in military actions across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border threatens to derail the peace efforts and the ceasefire that was brokered during the Islamic festival of Eid al-Fitr in February 2026, when the gunfights and airstrikes were halted along the Durand Line, the 2,640-km border between the two nations.
The latest violent escalation was linked to the killing of a child allegedly by Pakistani forces in Spin Boldak city on the border. Taliban fighters had exchanged retaliatory gunfire with Pakistan troops.
Pakistan has, since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul, accused them of harbouring the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which it blamed for the attacks on Pakistani soil and on Pakistani military troops since 2021.
China mediated between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with assistance from Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, to stabilise the border situation. Yet, repeated accusations of violence against each other have kept the pot boiling on the Durand Line.