Death toll in Afghanistan flooding increases to 28, authorities say

March 30, 2026 Current News Articles

Associated Press

March 30, 2026

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan authorities said Monday that the death toll from severe weather that has struck swathes of the country over the past four days has increased to 28, with 49 people injured. Dozens of people have died from extreme weather in the country so far this year.

Storms and heavy rainfall over the past few days across several provinces have led to severe flooding, landslides and lightning strikes, the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority said, adding that the figures could increase as more details become available.

The severe weather has destroyed 130 homes and damaged a further 436, while it has also killed more than 240 animals, wiped out 93 kilometers (58 miles) of roads and destroyed irrigation canals and agricultural land, the authority said. In all, 1,130 families have been affected, it added.

Earlier this year, heavy snowfall and flash floods left dozens of people dead across the country.

Afghanistan is highly vulnerable to extreme weather events, with snow and heavy rain that trigger flash floods, often killing dozens, or even hundreds, of people at a time. In 2024, more than 300 people died in springtime flash floods.

Decades of conflict, coupled with poor infrastructure, a struggling economy, deforestation and the intensifying effects of climate change have amplified the impact of such disasters, particularly in remote areas where many homes are built of mud and offer limited protection against sudden deluges or heavy snowfall.

Left in limbo, Afghans who served with U.S. forces fear Trump could send them back to the Taliban

March 30, 2026 Current News Articles

By Jennifer Jett and Babak Dehghanpisheh

NBC News

March 29, 2026

On a former U.S. military base in Qatar, Afghans who supported the United States in its 20-year war against the Taliban have been left in limbo, living in windowless shipping containers far from the new lives they were once promised in the U.S.

Now, the Trump administration is presenting them with a stark choice: move to an unspecified third country or return to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, where they potentially face persecution, imprisonment or death.

Camp As Sayliyah, located outside Doha, hosts more than 1,100 Afghan men, women and children, most of whom have been approved for U.S. resettlement after extensive vetting. Instead, the State Department says everyone will be removed from the camp by March 31, making it the latest casualty in the Trump administration’s efforts to block virtually all paths to the U.S. for Afghan allies.

The camp is the only Afghan refugee site run directly by the U.S. government, with its residents among thousands of people stranded across Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere since Trump returned to office and halted all refugee resettlement. Days before the State Department’s self-imposed deadline, they say they have been given almost no information about what will happen to them next.

The people at Camp As Sayliyah include former members of the Afghan special forces, interpreters and others who worked with the U.S. military, and relatives of U.S. service members and veterans. Their situation has become even more urgent with the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, as the camp is rattled by Tehran’s retaliatory missile strikes on a nearby U.S. air base.

Afghanistan is also engaged in its own deadly conflict with Pakistan, with Pakistani airstrikes killing civilians in Kabul and elsewhere.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a million dollars,” said Mohammad, who asked not to be identified by his full name out of concern for his family’s safety. “How am I going to trade my dad’s life or my brother’s or my sister’s life for, I don’t know, a billion dollars?”

A State Department spokesperson said Camp As Sayliyah is “a legacy of the Biden administration’s attempt to move as many Afghans to America as possible — in many cases, without proper vetting.”

While the Trump administration has no plans to force anyone back to Afghanistan, the spokesperson said, “it is not appropriate or humane to keep this group of individuals on the platform indefinitely.”

Moving the camp population to third countries is “a positive resolution that provides safety for these remaining people to start a new life outside of Afghanistan,” the spokesperson said.

Mohammad, who was gravely wounded in Afghanistan as a combat interpreter for the U.S. military and enlisted in the Army after moving to Texas, said he felt “betrayed — not by my fellow battle buddies, but by the administration.”

While he remains proud of his service, he says his parents and siblings were targeted in Afghanistan because of it, and later evacuated to Qatar by the U.S. government. He says America has a duty to protect his relatives instead of “handing my family over to the Taliban.”

‘What are they going to do with us?’

Camp As Sayliyah was the “flagship relocation camp” for people fleeing Afghanistan after the U.S. withdrawal, said Shawn VanDiver, president of the San Diego-based advocacy group AfghanEvac.

It was a place where they could safely wait as final preparations were made for their U.S. resettlement, he added, and a symbol of the promise America made to Afghans who risked their lives in the conflict.

Now, it is little more than a “prison camp,” said VanDiver, who has visited the site multiple times. Residents are not allowed to leave the camp, where they live in windowless shipping containers designed for temporary lodging.

While moving the Afghan refugees to third countries may address immediate safety concerns amid the Iran war, it “cannot be the final step,” AfghanEvac said in a statement.

Staying long term in a third country is not a good option, VanDiver said, with no guarantee that those countries wouldn’t just send people back to Afghanistan.

“It’s untenable for a lot of reasons, but mostly because it’s the wrong thing to do,” he said.

The Trump administration has not publicly confirmed any third countries that have agreed to accept people from the camp, and denies that Afghan allies face being repatriated against their will.

“Some have gone of their own volition, but we are not forcing anybody,” Assistant Secretary of State S. Paul Kapur told lawmakers at a congressional hearing last month.

He said he believed about 150 Afghans had accepted the payments and that he did not know what had happened to them.

Those still at the camp struggle to fill their time, resting in the middle of the day to avoid the desert heat and roaming streets that are named after U.S. states to help them learn about what was supposed to be their new home. Schooling is limited, especially for older students.

Twice in the past year, Iranian strikes have hit nearby in Qatar — once last June in retaliation for U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, and again during the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran that began Feb. 28.

The camp offers poor protection against the strikes, said VanDiver, whose group received multiple recordings from “terrified” residents of missiles being intercepted over their heads.

The arrival of Afghan allies to the U.S. had already slowed to a crawl as the Trump administration reshapes the U.S. immigration system. But their hopes were further dashed in November when a shooting in Washington killed one National Guard member and seriously injured another.

The suspect, identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, is an Afghan national who served alongside U.S. troops as part of an elite CIA-backed unit in Afghanistan. Lakanwal, who pleaded not guilty to nine federal charges last month, was granted asylum by the Trump administration last year after arriving in the U.S. during the Biden administration.

The Trump administration imposed harsher restrictions for Afghans after the attack, halting asylum decisions, suspending visa issuance for all Afghan nationals and moving to detain refugees already in the country.

Afghans at Camp As Sayliyah condemned the attack, but say it was the act of one individual.

“We want to ask the American government not to link the crime of a single Afghan to all Afghans,” said a woman surnamed Salimi, a lawyer who has been at the camp with her husband and two sons, ages 2 and 4, for more than a year.

Salimi, who asked to be identified only by her last name because of security concerns, was approved for U.S. resettlement because her legal work put her at risk of persecution by the Taliban.

She had her own legal office, mostly representing women “who were poor, who were physically abused, who were pursuing divorce.”

Many of her clients’ husbands were members of the Taliban, some of whom were imprisoned for physical abuse or other crimes, she said.

The night the Taliban returned to power, Salimi said, she got a call from an unknown number.

“You separated my wife from me and now she’s married to another man and has another life,” said the man on the other end of the line. “You have to pay the price.”

Soon, Salimi heard the Taliban was looking for her. Her office was closed, as she focused on keeping a low profile and finding a way out.

She was eventually able to apply for a U.S. visa, a process she said took seven or eight months, including security checks.

As she flew to Qatar in January 2025, Salimi believed her family’s future in the U.S. was finally secure, but Trump’s return to the White House just two weeks later upended their plans, with refugee resettlement halted and Afghan nationals later barred from entering the U.S.

“Facing an uncertain future makes our mind and spirit get worse day by day,” Salimi said. “What’s going to happen to our future? What are they going to do with us?”

Women in particular have suffered under the Taliban, who have barred them from school beyond the sixth grade, banned their voices and bare faces in public and suspended laws against rape and child and forced marriage.

Breaking a promise

The U.S. government’s about-face on Afghan allies and their families has pained veterans such as retired Army Lt. Col. Mariah Smith, who served three tours in Afghanistan.

Translators such as Mohammad “were absolutely vital to success,” Smith said, making them “a primary target” of the Taliban.

“There was this expectation and promise, like, if you help us, this is a way for you to be able to come to America,” said Smith, who is vice chair of No One Left Behind, a nonprofit based in Arlington, Virginia, that advocates for Afghan and Iraqi allies.

“That’s why I think it was so heartbreaking for so many veterans when we pulled out of Afghanistan,” she said, “because so many of us felt like we were complicit in breaking that promise.”

The treatment of Afghan allies could make people in other conflict zones “less willing to work with us,” she added.

Mohammad, who grew up in Kabul, signed up as a combat interpreter for the U.S. military in 2009. That year, he was seriously wounded in Helmand province when an improvised explosive device detonated, killing the U.S. Marine right in front of him.

After recovering, he was sent to Kabul to do noncombat translation work. But every day, he said, “the task of just going from your home to the office was just, you know, life and death.”

The risk was worth it, he said, “because of the value that we saw in the international community being in Afghanistan,” such as his sisters being able to go to school.

In 2014, he received what’s known as a “special immigrant visa” and moved to Texas. He enlisted in the U.S. Army almost immediately as a way to give back to the country that had changed his life.

After finishing his service in 2016, Mohammad — now a U.S. citizen — worked as a Defense Department contractor in Afghanistan, right up until the withdrawal.

“It just happened out of the blue, and it was super chaotic,” said Mohammad, who was in Kabul at the time. “I barely managed to get to the airport, get on the plane, and get out.”

With the Taliban now back in power, those with ties to the U.S. military and their relatives were targets. Mohammad’s family spent the next three years in hiding, his parents moving from place to place with four daughters and two sons.

“We couldn’t all be together in one place,” said his father, a history teacher also named Mohammad who also asked not to be fully identified for safety reasons. “The Taliban intelligence services were constantly after us.”

The family was evacuated to Qatar in 2024 after the younger Mohammad learned of a program to help Afghan relatives of U.S. service members. “That was a big sigh of relief for me,” he said.

When Trump returned to office, the family had been fully processed and was just waiting for their U.S. visas and plane tickets. “Now we don’t know our fate,” the older Mohammad said.

Several months ago, he said, people working at the camp started saying, “Why don’t you go back to Afghanistan? The country is calm and free now.” He said a State Department representative has since offered money for those willing to go back.

Returning would mean certain death, Mohammad and his family say. His sister Faezeh, 29, is trying to stay optimistic, and says she hopes that “in the near future Trump changes his mind.”

“Sometimes we think they’re going to send us back by force. It’s a very difficult worry,” she added. “Especially for those of us that have nothing to go back to.”

Afghanistan, Pakistan Elders to Meet in Peshawar for Peace Talks

March 29, 2026 Current News Articles

By Fidel Rahmati

Khaama Press

March 29, 2026

Pakistani media say a joint Afghanistan-Pakistan meeting will be held in Peshawar to promote dialogue, a ceasefire and de-escalation between the two sides.

A joint peace assembly involving participants from Afghanistan and Pakistan is expected to be held on Tuesday, March 31, in Peshawar, according to Pakistani media reports, as efforts continue to calm worsening bilateral tensions.

According to the reports, the gathering will bring together political leaders, tribal elders, religious scholars, civil society activists, business figures and media representatives, with organizers describing the meeting as an urgent attempt to reopen channels of communication.

The main purpose of the gathering is to create space for dialogue, de-escalation and peacebuilding between Kabul and Islamabad, with participants expected to call on both sides to implement an immediate ceasefire and resolve disputes through diplomacy.

The planned meeting comes at a highly tense moment in bilateral relations, after renewed fighting and military operations along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border undermined hopes for a more durable truce following a brief Eid pause.

Meanwhile, Pakistani officials have said military operations against Afghanistan will continue unless the Taliban government stops what Islamabad describes as support for militant infrastructure used in attacks inside Pakistan. At a weekly briefing, foreign ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said the pause in fighting had ended and that operations would continue until Pakistan’s objectives were achieved.

According to Reuters, Pakistan says the Taliban administration must “review” what it called its misplaced priority of supporting terrorist infrastructure, while Islamabad continues to accuse Kabul of giving safe haven to militants such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The Taliban has repeatedly denied those allegations and says militancy inside Pakistan is an internal issue.

Pakistani broadcaster Geo News reported that the meeting aims to establish a shared path toward peace and stability, with organizers arguing that such an initiative is urgently needed as mistrust and violence continue to deepen.

The broader crisis has drawn regional concern, with China recently urging Afghanistan and Pakistan to settle their differences through face-to-face talks, restraint and an immediate ceasefire rather than force.

At the same time, Pakistan is trying to manage several diplomatic crises at once, including its tensions with Afghanistan and its parallel role in regional diplomacy linked to the Iran war, where Islamabad has also sought to position itself as a mediator.

If the Peshawar meeting succeeds in opening even a limited channel for communication, it could offer a rare opportunity to lower tensions and prevent further deterioration in one of the region’s most fragile relationships.

UK approves resettlement for nearly 1,000 former Afghan special forces

March 28, 2026 Current News Articles

By Fidel Rahmati

Khaama Press

March 28, 2026

Britain has approved resettlement for nearly 1,000 former Afghan special forces personnel after reviewing previously rejected immigration and protection cases.

Britain has agreed to resettle 884 former Afghan special forces personnel after reviewing previously rejected immigration cases, offering fresh hope to members of elite units who fought alongside British forces before the Taliban returned to power. The move follows a government reassessment of applications from the so-called “Triples” units, including CF 333 and ATF 444.

According to Forces News, the affected applicants were initially turned down under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), but their files were reopened after the government found inconsistencies in earlier decision-making. Those who complete visa and security checks will be allowed to remain in Britain under the resettlement framework.

The British government said the review was launched after concerns that some decisions involving former Afghan partner forces had not been properly documented or consistently assessed. Defence procurement minister Luke Pollard described the delays as “deeply concerning” and said the government remained committed to supporting those who had served with British troops.

The former commandos are believed to have been trained by British special forces and took part in joint operations against the Taliban and other militant groups during the war in Afghanistan. Many have said they have faced severe threats since 2021 because of their links to British military operations.

Britain introduced ARAP in April 2021 to protect Afghans who worked for or alongside the UK government and were considered at serious risk because of that service. The route later became part of the broader Afghan Resettlement Programme, though ARAP itself was closed to new principal applications in July 2025.

The case has become one of the most controversial chapters in Britain’s Afghan resettlement effort, with campaigners and former military officials arguing that many of the “Triples” were unfairly excluded despite their direct operational role. Government documents published in February said roughly 30% of reviewed decisions in the first phase had been overturned.

Officials have also acknowledged that newly examined payment records and service verification evidence may prove some of these former fighters worked closely enough with British forces to qualify under ARAP rules. That finding helped trigger a second phase of review covering additional cases.

The decision to approve hundreds of former Afghan commandos is likely to ease some of the criticism surrounding Britain’s handling of these cases, though thousands of applications remain under scrutiny. For many of those still waiting, the review is not only about paperwork, but about survival.

Pakistan says it will continue military operation against Militants in Afghanistan

March 28, 2026 Current News Articles

By Fidel Rahmati

Khaama Press

March 27, 2026

Pakistan said on Thursday it would continue its military operation against the Kabul administration after a temporary Eid ceasefire expired.

Pakistan said on Thursday it had resumed its “Ghazaab-ul-Haq” military operation against what it called militant hideouts in Afghanistan after a temporary Eid al-Fitr ceasefire expired, dimming hopes for a longer truce between the two neighbors. Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said the pause had ended and operations had restarted in a “targeted” manner.

Islamabad says the operation, launched on the night of Feb. 25, is aimed at infrastructure and sanctuaries used by militants behind attacks inside Pakistan, particularly the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP. Pakistani officials have accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing militants to operate from Afghanistan soil, a charge Kabul has repeatedly denied.

The Taliban accused Pakistan during Eid of violating the ceasefire, while Pakistani officials said their forces were acting in response to cross-border attacks and what they called provocations from Afghanistan territory. The latest resumption of hostilities follows weeks of the worst fighting between the two sides in years.

The truce had been brokered with mediation from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar, all of which pushed for de-escalation after a sharp military escalation in late February and March. Pakistan has said the pause was also requested by the mediating states, though neither side has signaled a durable political breakthrough.

Religious scholars and clerics in the region have also urged both sides to halt the fighting at least until Eid al-Adha, warning that continued conflict would deepen civilian suffering and further destabilize the border region. But with mutual accusations and little trust between Islamabad and Kabul, those appeals have so far struggled to gain traction.

The current crisis marks a dramatic deterioration in ties between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban, once close allies. Pakistan has increasingly blamed Kabul for sheltering TTP fighters responsible for a wave of deadly attacks since 2022, while the Taliban says it does not allow Afghanistan territory to be used against any other country.

The violence has also raised humanitarian concerns after major Pakistani strikes in Afghanistan this month, including one in Kabul that Taliban officials said hit a rehabilitation center and caused mass casualties, a claim Islamabad rejected. International actors including the United Nations, European Union and regional states have repeatedly called for restraint and dialogue.

The renewed operation suggests the fragile Eid truce has failed to halt a broader slide toward sustained confrontation. Unless both sides can restore confidence through mediation or direct talks, the conflict risks becoming an entrenched and highly destabilizing front in the region.

Torkham Border Crossing Reopen Temporarily, Officials Say

March 27, 2026 Current News Articles

By Fidel Rahmati

Khaama Press

March 26, 2026

Local officials in Nangarhar have announced that the Torkham border crossing will reopen today exclusively for migrant travel.

Quraishi Badloon, head of Taliban Information and Culture in Nangarhar, wrote on his social media platform on Wednesday evening, March 25, that the crossing will open from 9 a.m. Thursday for the safe and orderly movement of migrants.

The decision aims to ensure secure and regulated transit for Afghans traveling between Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to Badloon.

The Torkham crossing had been closed for several days following clashes between Taliban fighters and Pakistani border guards, which disrupted all movement across the frontier.

Torkham is one of the most important border points between Afghanistan and Pakistan, serving as a critical route for both people and goods.

Recent weeks have seen escalating tensions between Pakistan and Taliban forces, with sporadic clashes reported along the border, raising concerns over regional stability.

Analysts say the temporary reopening for migrants may be an effort to ease humanitarian pressures while broader security and political tensions remain unresolved.

Historically, border closures like this have strained trade, disrupted families, and intensified local grievances, highlighting the fragile dynamics in Afghanistan-Pakistan relations.

The reopening signals a cautious step toward normalizing crossings, though the situation remains volatile, and authorities on both sides continue to monitor security developments closely.

UNICEF Says Every Girl in Afghanistan Has the Right to Go to School

March 27, 2026 Current News Articles

By Khaama Press

March 26, 2026

A UNICEF representative in Afghanistan has said every girl in the country has the right to go to school, renewing calls for the reopening of classrooms to girls.

Tajudeen Oyewale wrote on X on Thursday, March 26, that when girls are educated, communities grow stronger and the future becomes brighter for everyone.

He said UNICEF’s message is simple but important and aimed at keeping hope alive for girls across Afghanistan.

His remarks follow an earlier appeal by UNICEF South Asia regional director Sanjay Wijesekera, who said the time has come to reopen schools for girls in Afghanistan.

Girls above grade six have remained barred from school since the Taliban returned to power, leaving millions cut off from formal education.

The restrictions have since expanded beyond schools, with girls and women also excluded from universities, institutes and many other educational spaces.

Former President Hamid Karzai and other public figures have repeatedly warned that denying girls education and restricting women’s work will damage Afghanistan’s stability, dignity and future development.

Women also continue to face employment restrictions in many sectors, including public institutions and parts of humanitarian and civil society work, worsening poverty for already vulnerable households.

These bans are unfolding amid a severe humanitarian crisis, with millions of Afghans facing hunger, unemployment, displacement and dependence on international aid.

UNICEF’s latest call adds to growing international and domestic pressure, but for Afghan girls and women, access to education and work remains largely out of reach.

Afghans hold second mass funeral for victims of an airstrike on Kabul

March 27, 2026 Current News Articles

By Abdul Qahar Afghan | AP

Washington Post

March 26, 2026

KABUL, Afghanistan — Dozens of people were buried in a Kabul cemetery on Thursday in the second mass funeral of victims killed in an airstrike that hit a drug rehabilitation center in the Afghan capital earlier this month.

Bulldozers opened a large pit into which individual graves were dug for the 60 coffins. Afghan officials have said hundreds of people were killed when a Pakistani airstrike hit the 2,000-bed Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital on March 16.

The U.N. humanitarian affairs office has said the total death toll is still under verification. Pakistan has denied targeting civilians, saying it struck an ammunition depot.

The strike came amid escalating fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan that began in February and has seen repeated cross-border clashes as well as airstrikes inside Afghanistan, including several in Kabul.

Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of providing a safe haven for militants who carry out attacks inside Pakistan, especially for the Pakistani Taliban . The group is separate but closely allied with the Afghan Taliban, which seized power in Afghanistan in 2021 during the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led troops. Kabul denies the charge.

Pakistan declared last month that it is at “open war” with Afghanistan . The conflict has alarmed the international community, particularly as the area is one where other militant organizations, including al-Qaida and the Islamic State group , still have a presence and have been trying to resurface.

The two sides declared a temporary truce last week ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, following mediation by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar. The truce expired this week, and renewed fighting erupted on Wednesday, with Afghan officials saying at least two civilians had been killed in eastern Afghanistan and others had been wounded.

Separately, the Pakistani Taliban — known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP — said they have resumed attacks inside Pakistan after observing their own three-day Eid ceasefire.

Thursday’s funeral was the second mass funeral for victims at the addiction treatment center, after one was held for more than 50 people on March 18.

Health Ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman said on Thursday that the death toll from the strike on the center now stood at 411 people, after two of the wounded died in hospital and one more body was pulled from the rubble in recent days. A further 263 people were wounded, he said.

Zaman said the remains of 20 young men, aged about 18 to 19 years old, were never found. The young men were all in a room in the treatment center that was completely destroyed in the strike. “No sign of them remained,” he said. “We have not yet found any body parts of them to identify.”

The spokesman said many people remain missing. He said hundreds of people were still going to Kabul’s forensic department seeking news of their loved ones who had been in the Omid treatment center, as their relatives are not listed among the confirmed dead or the wounded.

Samira Mohammadi said she has been searching since the explosion for her 20-year-old son Arif, who was a patient at the treatment center. Her visits to several hospitals in the capital have been fruitless.

“I’m looking for my child, but I haven’t found him.” she said. “I’m searching for my son with all my heart, I’m telling you, Arif is no more.”

The Omid hospital had been expanded from a previously existing drug treatment facility as part of the Taliban government’s efforts to stamp out a significant drug addiction problem in Afghanistan. The country’s vast poppy fields have been the source of much of the world’s heroin, which in combination with decades of conflict and widespread poverty has fueled drug addiction that authorities have vowed to combat.

The site, near Kabul’s international airport, is adjacent to a former NATO military base, Camp Phoenix, where U.S. forces used to train the Afghan National Army .

The strike caused an intense fire at the hospital, and officials have said the bodies of many of the victims were too badly damaged to be identified.

Fighting resumes between Pakistan and Afghanistan after temporary ceasefire ends, killing 2

March 26, 2026 Current News Articles

By ABDUL QAHAR AFGHAN

Associated Press

March 25, 2026

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Renewed fighting erupted along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan on Wednesday after a temporary ceasefire expired, killing at least two civilians and wounding others in eastern Afghanistan, Afghan Taliban officials said.

The brief truce had been announced by the two sides ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. Ziaur Rahman Speenghar, a director at the information and culture department in Afghanistan’s Kunar province, said Pakistani forces fired dozens of artillery shells into the Narai and Sarkano districts, killing two civilians and wounding eight others after the ceasefire expired.

Afghan border forces returned fire, he said, claiming they destroyed three Pakistani military posts and killed one person. His claims could not be independently verified. There was no immediate comment from Pakistan’s military. However, a local Pakistani official in the northwest accused Afghan forces of initiating the exchange of fire in multiple areas.

The latest violence comes about a week after both sides agreed to halt hostilities following Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan at the request of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar. The pause followed Pakistani strikes that the Afghan Taliban government said hit a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul, killing more than 400 people. That toll could not be independently confirmed.

Separately, the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, said it had resumed attacks inside Pakistan after observing its own three-day Eid ceasefire.

The TTP, which is separate from but allied to the Afghan Taliban, has stepped up attacks inside Pakistan since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021. The TTP has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the United Nations. Pakistan accuses Kabul of sheltering TTP leaders and thousands of members who carry out cross-border attacks.

Kabul denies the charge, but Pakistan has vowed to continue targeting TTP and its supporters inside Afghanistan until Afghanistan’s Taliban government assures that it will not allow TTP and other militants to use the Afghan soil for attacks.

___

Associated Press writer Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to the story.

Pakistan Resumes Attacks On Afghanistan After Eid Pause; 2 Civilians Killed, Several Injured

March 26, 2026 Current News Articles

Aveek Banerjee
News18.com

March 26, 2026

The latest attacks came after Pakistan and Afghanistan had announced a “temporary pause” in hostilities amid long-standing tensions between the two neighbours.

Pakistan on Thursday resumed attacks against Afghanistan after a temporary pause, according to the Pakistani Foreign Ministry, dashing hopes of a ceasefire after a brief pause was announced during the festival of Eid al-Fitr. At least two civilians were killed and several others were injured.

Ziaur Rahman Speenghar, a director at the information and culture department in Afghanistan’s Kunar province, said Pakistani forces fired dozens of artillery shells into the Narai and Sarkano districts, killing two civilians and wounding eight others after the ceasefire expired, reported The Associated Press.

He said Afghan border forces returned fire, claiming to have destroyed three Pakistani military posts and killed one person, although these claims have not been independently verified. However, a local Pakistani official in the northwest accused Afghan forces of initiating the exchange of fire in multiple areas.

Last week, Pakistan and Afghanistan had announced a “temporary pause” in hostilities to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramzan at the request of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said at a briefing that the pause had concluded between March 23 and 24, adding that Pakistan’s operations would continue until the objectives are achieved, and until the Afghan Taliban regime reviewed what he called its “misplaced priority of supporting terrorist infrastructures”.

The pause followed Pakistani strikes that the Afghan Taliban government said hit a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul, killing more than 400 people. Pakistan rejected the Taliban’s statements about the strike, saying it had “precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure”.

This airstrike marked a significant escalation in the long-standing tensions between the two neighbours, which have seen cross-border shelling, retaliatory air operations, and mutual accusations over militant sanctuaries since the conflict intensified in late 2025.

The Pakistani military has struck Kabul several times in recent weeks, as part of a conflict sparked by claims that the Taliban government has harboured militant groups that have carried out attacks across the border.

‘What are they going to do with us?’

Breaking a promise

By ABDUL QAHAR AFGHAN

Recent Posts