Afghanistan says Pakistani strikes kill seven and wound 85 in first attack since peace talks

A Taliban security guard rides an armed vehicle on the outskirts of Jalalabad, Afghanistan. The Afghan government said Pakistani ‘mortars and rockets’ on Monday hit homes and a university in Asadabad, the capital of eastern Kunar province. Photograph: AFP/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenA Taliban security guard rides an armed vehicle on the outskirts of Jalalabad, Afghanistan. The Afghan government said Pakistani ‘mortars and rockets’ on Monday hit homes and a university in Asadabad, the capital of eastern Kunar province. Photograph: AFP/Getty ImagesAfghanistanAfghanistan says Pakistani strikes kill seven and wound 85 in first attack since peace talksPakistan officials dismiss Afghan media reports and official statements about strikes on university in Kunar province as ‘blatant lie’AgenciesMon 27 Apr 2026 19.54 EDTLast modified on Mon 27 Apr 2026 19.56 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleMortars and missiles fired from Pakistan on Monday struck a university and civilian homes in north-eastern Afghanistan, killing seven people and wounding at least 85, Afghan officials said.Pakistan denied the accusation of targeting a university.The strikes were the first violent incident since Chinese-mediated peace talks between the two sides earlier this month.Pakistan and Afghanistan had been embroiled in months of deadly fighting that has killed hundreds of people since late February, when Afghanistan launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan. Islamabad had declared it was in open war with Afghanistan.Pakistan hopes steep cost of airstrikes on Taliban targets will protect against terror attacksRead morePakistan officials dismissed Afghan media reports and official statements about the strikes on the university as “a blatant lie”.Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of harbouring militants that carry out deadly attacks inside Pakistan, especially the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP. The group is separate from, but allied with, the Afghan Taliban, which took over Afghanistan in 2021 after the chaotic withdrawal of US-led troops. Kabul denies the charge.Afghan and Pakistani officials met in Urumqi in western China in early April, and had agreed not to escalate their conflict, China’s government said after mediating the talks.Monday’s strikes marked the first major attack since the discussions, highlighting the tenuous nature of peace efforts mediated by the international community. Apart from China, other nations involved in mediation at various times include Turkey, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.The fighting largely subsided in March, after the two sides declared a temporary truce for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. The truce followed a deadly Pakistani airstrike on 17 March on a drug treatment facility in Kabul which Afghanistan said killed more than 400 civilians. Pakistan denied targeting civilian facilities and disputed the death toll.Sporadic cross-border fighting continued even while delegations from the two sides were attending the talks in Urumqi.Afghan deputy government spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said Monday’s mortar and missile attack struck the city of Asadabad, the capital of Kunar province, and other areas in the province.The Kunar Information and Culture director, Najibullah Hanafi, said the death toll stood at seven, with 85 people wounded.Fitrat said the wounded included women, children and students at the Sayed Jamaluddin…

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