KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Pakistani airstrikes and cross-border shelling killed at least 57 civilians and wounded 342 others in Afghanistan between April and June, the UN said in a new report, warning that civilians remain the main victims of escalating tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan.
In its quarterly human rights report released on Tuesday, the UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said it documented 399 civilian casualties in Afghanistan during the three months, including 40 women and 112 children. The mission attributed all documented cross-border civilian casualties during the period to Pakistani security forces.
According to the report, airstrikes and ground engagements were the leading causes of civilian harm. The deadliest incidents were Pakistani airstrikes in Paktia, Paktika, and Kunar provinces on June 28, followed by cross-border shelling in Kunar province between April 27 and April 29.
UNAMA said Pakistani forces carried out three airstrikes late on June 28 that killed 28 civilians and injured 189 others. The worst-hit location was Paktia province’s Chamkani district, where a strike hit a residential building. A second strike followed about 20 minutes later as local residents attempted to rescue people trapped under the rubble. The two attacks killed 22 civilians, including women and children, and injured at least 185 others.
In neighboring Paktika province, another airstrike struck a civilian residence, killing six civilians, most of them women and girls, and injuring one woman. A separate strike in Kunar province injured three members of a family and destroyed their home, according to the report.
Earlier in the quarter, shelling by Pakistani security forces in Kunar province caused 99 civilian casualties, including eight deaths and 91 injuries, UNAMA said. Residential neighborhoods, homes, and the campus of Sayed Jamaluddin Afghani University were among the sites hit.
The report also documented a rise in casualties caused by unexploded ordnance left behind after clashes near the border. In one incident in Paktika province on June 8, an artillery shell detonated while being dismantled by a scrap metal collector, killing seven civilians and injuring six others.
The findings come amid escalating tensions between the Taliban authorities and Pakistan. UNAMA said it had recorded 499 civilians killed and 1,216 injured in Afghanistan as a result of cross-border hostilities between October 2025 and June 2026.
The Taliban’s Foreign Ministry said Pakistani airstrikes on June 28 and 29 killed around 36 civilians and wounded 163 others, accusing Islamabad of targeting residential areas and violating Afghan territory.
Pakistan has rejected the allegations, saying its military operations targeted militant groups operating from Afghan soil, including the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad blames for attacks inside Pakistan.
In comments attached to the UN report, Pakistan said its operations were conducted in self-defense following a series of attacks inside its territory. Islamabad said the strikes targeted only militant camps and hideouts and were carried out in line with international law.
The UN, regional countries, and human rights organizations have repeatedly called on both sides to reduce tensions, protect civilians, and respect international humanitarian law.
Rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, have called for independent investigations into reported civilian casualties from Pakistani airstrikes, warning that attacks that unlawfully target civilians or fail to distinguish between military and civilian targets could amount to possible war crimes.
