KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan authorities report that missile and mortar attacks launched from Pakistan on Monday targeted a university campus and residential neighborhoods in the country’s northeast, leaving seven dead and at least 85 injured. Pakistani officials have rejected claims they struck educational facilities.
Monday’s bombardment marks the initial major violence following Chinese-brokered peace negotiations between the neighboring nations in early April.
The two countries have been locked in deadly cross-border conflict for months, resulting in hundreds of casualties since late February when Afghanistan conducted retaliatory strikes against Pakistan following Pakistani air raids on Afghan territory. Pakistan had previously announced it was engaged in open warfare with Afghanistan, creating an escalation that concerned the global community.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting called Afghan media accounts and government claims about university attacks “a blatant lie.”
Pakistani leadership maintains that Afghanistan provides sanctuary to extremist groups conducting lethal operations within Pakistan, particularly the Pakistani Taliban, referred to as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP. This organization operates independently from but maintains ties with the Afghan Taliban, which assumed control of Afghanistan in 2021 after the turbulent departure of U.S.-led forces. Afghan officials reject these allegations.
Representatives from both nations convened in Urumqi in western China during early April, reaching agreements to avoid further escalation and “explore a comprehensive solution,” according to Chinese government statements following the mediated discussions.
The Monday assault represents the first significant attack following those talks, demonstrating the fragile state of international peace mediation efforts. Beyond China, several other nations have participated in diplomatic efforts between the two countries at different times, including Turkey, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
Combat activities had largely decreased in March after both sides announced a temporary ceasefire for the Muslim celebration of Eid al-Fitr, which concludes the holy month of Ramadan. This pause came after a devastating Pakistani air attack on March 17 targeting a drug rehabilitation center in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, which Afghan officials said resulted in more than 400 civilian deaths. Pakistan denied deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure and contested the casualty figures.
However, intermittent border skirmishes persisted even during the diplomatic meetings in Urumqi.
Afghan deputy government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat reported that Monday’s mortar and missile bombardment hit Asadabad, the provincial capital of Kunar Province, along with multiple locations in another district within the province during afternoon hours.
Kunar Information and Culture Director Najibullah Hanafi confirmed seven fatalities with 85 people injured.
Fitrat indicated that casualties included women, children and students from Sayed Jamaluddin Afghani University, characterizing the attacks as “an unforgivable war crime, barbarity, and provocative act.”
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Higher Education reported approximately 30 students and faculty members suffered injuries during the university strike, which caused significant structural damage to campus buildings and grounds.
Pakistan’s information ministry issued a statement declaring that “Pakistan’s targeting is precise and intelligence based. No strike has been carried out on Sayed Jamaluddin Afghan University. The claims are frivolous and fake.”
On Saturday, Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mutaqi characterized the recent Chinese-mediated negotiations as “positive.”
“You are all aware of our recent problems with Pakistan. The latest negotiations were held in Urumqi under the mediation of China, and these negotiations were positive,” he stated during a graduation ceremony at the foreign ministry’s Diplomacy Institute.
He emphasized that issues between the nations “are very sensitive between neighbors and between two Islamic neighboring countries and should not be treated irresponsibly.”
The United Nations’ office for humanitarian affairs coordination in Afghanistan reported earlier this month that the ongoing conflict has forced 94,000 people from their homes.
