Kabul, October 1, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
At least 10 civilians, most of them children, were killed and nine others injured in Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan’s Kunar and Helmand provinces, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said on Thursday.
In a post on X, UNAMA said the casualties resulted from airstrikes carried out earlier in the day. It expressed concern over the continued impact of cross-border hostilities on civilians and reiterated its call for de-escalation, dialogue, respect for international law and measures to prevent further civilian casualties.
Earlier, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the Pakistani airstrikes, describing them as an “act of aggression and crime in violation of all accepted principles”.
Mujahid said the attacks targeted civilian homes in the Chugam area of Shultan district in Kunar and the Safar area of Garmser district in Helmand on Wednesday night.
In a post on X, he said nine Afghan civilians, including women and children, had been killed, 11 injured and three homes destroyed in the strikes. His account differed from the casualty figures subsequently reported by UNAMA.
Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai also condemned the airstrikes on residential areas in Kunar and Helmand, describing them as an infringement of Afghanistan’s sovereignty.
In a statement shared on X, Karzai offered condolences to the families of those killed and wished a speedy recovery to the injured. He described the incursion by Pakistani military forces as a “violation of borders and an infringement on the sovereignty of Afghanistan”.
Karzai said the people of Afghanistan would stand together to defend their homeland against what he termed “foreign aggression”. He urged Pakistan to review its policies and plans towards Afghanistan, stop promoting extremism and divisiveness, and engage with its neighbour on the basis of good neighbourliness and civilised relations.
The latest airstrikes come amid an escalation in cross-border attacks, with Pakistani strikes reported in several Afghan provinces in recent days.
On September 24, Pakistani strikes in Kandahar, Paktia and Khost reportedly killed four civilians. Earlier, strikes carried out on September 21 in Kunar and Paktika left three people dead.
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