The Taliban government has accused Pakistan of launching a deadly attack on Kunar province in eastern Afghanistan, targeting a university and residential areas. At least seven people were killed and 75 injured, including students and a professor at Kunar University, according to multiple sources cited by the BBC.
A professor who was teaching at the university described hearing terrifying explosions across the campus. Freelance journalist Matiullah Shahab, who was about a kilometer away, said he heard the bombardment around 14:00 local time and saw people fleeing the town center. He confirmed several civilians were hospitalized.
Afghanistan's higher education ministry reported extensive damage to the university's buildings and surroundings. Pakistan's information ministry denied the allegations, calling the reports fake.
This incident follows a Pakistani airstrike on a drug rehabilitation center in Kabul that the UN says killed 269 people. Cross-border violence has escalated in recent months, though a fragile ceasefire had been in place after Chinese-mediated talks in Urumqi in early April. During that period, Taliban leaders had refrained from public criticism of Pakistan to avoid jeopardizing negotiations.
Now, the silence has been shattered. Taliban deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat condemned the strikes as "grave and inexcusable war crimes, a blatant act of brutality, and a provocative action."
Pakistan, which has also mediated between Iran and the US, says its airstrikes target militant hideouts. Once a major backer of the Taliban, Islamabad's relations with the group soured after accusing it of harboring the Pakistan Taliban, which has waged an insurgency against Pakistani forces.