The incident is the latest test of a fragile ceasefire agreed between the two countries last month.
Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government has accused neighbouring Pakistan of killing three civilians in a cross-border attack, which Kabul has condemned as a “war crime”.
The incident on Monday marked the latest test of a fragile ceasefire between the two countries, brokered by China in April, following months of cross-border fighting that left hundreds dead and injured.
Afghanistan’s deputy government spokesman, Hamdullah Fitrat, said on X that 14 others were injured in the attack. He accused Islamabad of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure, including homes, schools, a health centre, and mosques in Dangam, Kunar province, which lies along the border with Pakistan.
Islamabad has dismissed the allegations. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting suggested Kabul may have staged the destruction, saying in a post on X that images released by Afghanistan showed damage inconsistent with artillery strikes. It said the incident could be part of a “propaganda effort” to discredit Pakistan, following cross-border attacks in March and April that killed nine people and that Islamabad blamed on its neighbour.
The rise in tensions comes as one person was killed late on Monday in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the Afghan border, when security forces foiled a suicide attack at a checkpoint.
Several others were injured as security personnel opened fire on the attacker’s car, which was packed with explosives and heading towards a military post. The vehicle exploded before reaching its target.
Director of the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) Muhammad Amir Rana told Al Jazeera that Pakistan faces multiple challenges in carrying out cross-border attacks.
“Precision is a real problem for Pakistan when it comes to its cross-border strikes. Effective and foolproof intelligence is the critical missing link – without it, controlling collateral damage becomes the central challenge. What we are also seeing is that Pakistan’s security situation has worsened considerably since the war on Iran began on February 28,” he said.
Rana added he was not hopeful of a diplomatic breakthrough anytime soon.
“Pakistan’s diplomatic capital is growing and it is not willing to offer any concessions to Kabul, while the Afghan side is asking why it should concede anything,” he said.
Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of harbouring Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a Pakistani offshoot of the Afghan Taliban that is waging an armed rebellion against the government. Kabul denies the accusation.
Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of killing three civilians in ‘war crime’
Nasimi’s father and brother were killed by the Taliban; her brother shot in 2018 because the family’s eldest son Mohammad had worked as a translator for American forces during the US-led invasion of Afghanistan. Since then, the family had received threats and lived cautiously. When the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, they knew they had to leave.
On 20 January 2025, a week before Nasimi’s planned departure from Qatar – where she and her family had been evacuated to by the US – President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending refugee processing. Even though the family had been vetted and cleared for travel, the trip was cancelled overnight.
Now the family are among 1,100 Afghans, at least 700 of them women and children, who were evacuated by the US for resettlement. Stranded in Qatar, they now face the prospect of being sent to another war-torn nation: the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Last month it was confirmed that the Trump administration was in talks to send the Afghans who had assisted US forces to the DRC, instead of the US resettlement they had been promised.
Nasimi’s family say they will not go to the DRC, a country they know nothing about, far from their family in Colorado, without an Afghan community, and where they do not speak the language. While returning home would put the family in grave danger, they say it is “better to die in Afghanistan than to go there”.
Like many others, Nasimi arrived in Qatar with her family in December 2024, shortly after giving birth to her fourth child. What they were told would be a brief stopover at As-Sayliyah camp has stretched into almost a year-and-a-half in limbo.
“People are going crazy here,” Nasimi says of the conditions in Qatar. “There is constant fear. Women have had premature births because of the trauma and uncertainty, and there have even been suicide attempts.”
Conditions in the camp have further deteriorated since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran. “We heard missiles overhead, and fragments from intercepted ones hitting our roof,” Nasimi says. People were terrified that being in a US facility could make them a potential Iranian target.
Zahra’s father, who was an officer in the Afghan armed forces while the US was still in the country. Photograph: Handout
The As-Sayliyah camp had been used as a transit facility to process and clear families before resettlement, and was not designed to house them for months on end. Families live in containers inside a hangar, sharing toilet and kitchen facilities, with no proper schooling for children and no permission to leave.
The camp is ‘hell’ and ‘a prison’, says Zahra. Photograph: Handout
Zahra Muhib arrived in Qatar as a 13-year-old, days before Trump took office. Her family meant to stay for a couple of days. Now 15, Zahra has already celebrated a second birthday in the camp, a place she describes as “hell”, and “a prison”.
Her parents served as officers in the Afghan armed forces while the US was in the country. But when the Taliban returned to power in 2021, several of their former colleagues were detained and never heard from again. The family relocated, but continued to receive threats. Finally, they were offered resettlement in the US under the P1 visa scheme.
Zahra had begun to hope and dream again, she says: of school, even university, and of a life she would be creating herself.
She now lives in a small container with her parents and 11-year-old brother. “I have been diagnosed with depression and anxiety here, and I’m taking medication now. I barely sleep at night, and have developed a skin rash I can’t get rid of,” she says. “When I was finally allowed to go to the hospital with my dad, they put GPS trackers on us to ensure we wouldn’t escape.”
Zahra says she would go to the DRC if forced. “Going home is not an option because it’s not safe, so I’d go anywhere,” she says, adding that she is “tired of the uncertainty”.
Zahra says she spends most of her time alone and has been diagnosed with depression and anxiety. Photograph: Handout
While some informal classes had taken place in the camp, there was no structured education, Zahra says, and she spends most of her time alone, withdrawn. “I’ve been out of education for four years because of the Taliban’s ban on girls’ education,” she says. “Four years filled with sadness. I love all countries, but there’s no good education in the DRC, no good healthcare. My life has been on hold since the Taliban came and I don’t think I can start dreaming big in the DRC.”
Shawn VanDiver, founder and president of AfghanEvac, an NGO supporting Afghans who worked with American forces and helping them get to the US, says the government is failing to uphold its commitments to those who stood by it for two decades. “The only right solution is to bring them to America,” he says.
Sending families – and children such as Zahra – to the DRC raises serious concerns, he says.
Zahra says she and her father were fitted with GPS trackers when they went to hospital. Photograph: Handout
“The DRC is in active conflict, and is already hosting over 600,000 refugees. It lacks the infrastructure, legal protections, or community support necessary for resettlement.”
The state department is also offering residents at As-Sayliyah financial incentives to return to Afghanistan and forfeit their chance to come to the US: $4,500 for the main applicant and $1,200 for each family member, VanDiver says.
But Zahra’s mother, Samargul, 34, says that going back to Afghanistan isn’t an option. The family also cannot seek refuge elsewhere: “Because we have an open immigration case with the US, no other country would even consider accepting us,” Zahra says.
“These families have risked their lives for the US. Sending them to the DRC is a huge injustice and not a fair, viable option,” a source familiar with the situation, who asked to remain anonymous, says. “The state department under the Trump administration is desperate to get rid of this issue. Another 150,000 Afghans with links to the US are still stuck in Afghanistan and Pakistan and await processing,” the source adds.
Speaking by phone from Colorado, Nasimi’s brother Mohammad, 37, who arrived in the US in 2013, later served in the US army with deployments to the Middle East and is now a police officer, says he had started working for the US in Afghanistan to financially support his family. Since his brother’s killing in 2018 and continued Taliban threats, he had tried everything to bring them to safety.
In 2024, he finally managed to get his four sisters and mother to the US, but Nasimi, her husband and four children remained stranded abroad.
“I want Americans to know that their government has broken its promise,” he says.
For Zahra, the feeling is an all-consuming sadness. “I’m stuck here. My dreams are shattered. I don’t dare to dream again.”
*Name has been changed
They were hunted by the Taliban for helping the US. Now, Trump wants to send these families to the DRC
The split outcome was a stumble for the Justice Department in its effort to hold the defendant, Mohammad Sharifullah, responsible for the attack outside Abbey Gate at Hamid Karzai International Airport. The bombing killed 13 American troops and more than 150 Afghans.
The terrorist group known as Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-K — a foe of the Taliban and the United States alike — took responsibility for the attack. The jury unanimously agreed that Mr. Sharifullah was a member of ISIS-K, convicting him of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
But the jury deadlocked on whether there was proof beyond a reasonable doubt that his support for the group had resulted in death. Essentially, some jurors did not believe the evidence was sufficient to blame the Abbey Gate attack on him.
The material support conspiracy conviction, by itself, carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Had the jury found that Mr. Sharifullah’s actions had resulted in death, he would have been eligible for a life sentence.
The Abbey Gate attack became a symbol of the chaotic U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan in the opening months of the Biden administration. A bomber walked into a crowd of civilians thronging an entrance to the airport in the hope of fleeing the country during the Taliban’s takeover, then detonated an explosive hidden under his clothing.
Pakistani security forces arrested Mr. Sharifullah near the Afghan border in early 2025. U.S. officials have said that the Central Intelligence Agency provided information about his location. President Trump trumpeted the arrest during his first address to a joint session of Congress during his second term.
“Three and a half years ago, ISIS terrorists killed 13 American service members and countless others in the Abbey Gate bombing during the disastrous and incompetent withdrawal from Afghanistan,” Mr. Trump said, adding, “Tonight I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice.”
After his transfer to American custody, Mr. Sharifullah told F.B.I. agents that he was not only a member of ISIS-K, but that he had also assisted in several terrorist attacks, including scouting the attacker’s route to the Kabul airport. But his defense lawyers later disavowed that confession, saying it was false and coerced by his fear of Pakistani security forces.
The prosecution’s case that Mr. Sharifullah was specifically involved in the Abbey Gate attack rested heavily on his own confession. Judge Anthony J. Trenga, of the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, instructed the jury that they could not convict based on a confession if it was not corroborated by other evidence.
Early Wednesday afternoon, the head juror sent the judge a note saying that there was unanimous agreement on the charge of conspiring to provide material support to ISIS-K, but that they were at an impasse on whether Mr. Sharifullah’s actions had specifically contributed to the deadly attack.
“We are, and have been for some time, deadlocked,” the note said, adding: “An unanimous verdict will not be reached.”
Seamus Hughes contributed reporting.
Charlie Savage writes about national security and legal policy for The Times.
Jury Delivers Mixed Verdict in Case of Afghan Charged in 2021 Kabul Attack
A rights group warned closing Afghanistan embassies abroad could limit services, weaken advocacy and deepen humanitarian and political challenges for vulnerable citizens.
A coalition of human rights activists warned that closing or weakening Afghanistan’s diplomatic missions abroad could have serious humanitarian and political consequences, particularly for vulnerable communities relying on consular support.
In a statement, the group said reports about a possible closure of Afghanistan’s embassy in Australia are concerning and could restrict access to essential services for Afghan nationals.
It added that shutting such missions could unintentionally strengthen the narrative of the Taliban by reducing alternative representation of Afghan citizens internationally and limiting advocacy efforts.
Diplomatic missions have become key support hubs for Afghans overseas, especially women, civil society actors and migrants, providing documentation, legal assistance and a channel for raising concerns.
Since 2021, several Afghanistan embassies have faced uncertainty over funding and recognition, with some scaling down operations or closing, further reducing access to services for diaspora communities.
The group urged host countries to reconsider such decisions, warning that closures could weaken the voice of Afghans abroad and worsen existing humanitarian and human rights challenges.
Activists voice concern over Afghanistan embassy shutdowns abroad
A UK envoy urged restraint over Afghanistan-Pakistan border clashes, warning rising tensions risk civilians and calling for dialogue to prevent further escalation.
Richard Lindsay has expressed concern over ongoing clashes along the Durand Line, urging both sides to exercise restraint and prioritize the protection of civilians. He warned that the situation in border areas, particularly in Kunar province, remains volatile.
In a statement posted on X, Lindsay called for immediate steps to prevent further escalation, emphasizing that dialogue should be the primary means of resolving disputes. He stressed that safeguarding civilian lives must remain the central focus amid rising tensions.
The remarks come after Taliban authorities summoned a Pakistani diplomat to protest reported cross-border attacks, including strikes on civilian areas and public facilities. Officials described the incidents as violations of sovereignty and international norms.
Border tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have persisted for years, often flaring into clashes due to disputes over the poorly demarcated frontier and mutual security concerns. These incidents frequently affect local populations living near crossing points.
The Durand Line has long been a source of political and security friction, with both sides accusing each other of cross-border militancy and incursions. Periodic escalations have disrupted trade, movement, and daily life in border communities.
Humanitarian concerns have grown as civilians face displacement, casualties, and limited access to services during periods of intensified fighting. Aid organizations have repeatedly called for de-escalation and improved protection measures.
The latest developments highlight the fragility of security along the border, as international actors urge restraint and renewed diplomatic engagement to prevent further deterioration of the situation.
UK envoy urges restraint as Afghanistan-Pakistan border tensions rise
A UN expert urged release of detained journalists in Afghanistan, warning press freedom has sharply declined under growing restrictions, threats and censorship.
Richard Bennett has called on authorities in Afghanistan to immediately and unconditionally release detained journalists, warning of a worsening environment for press freedom. His appeal comes ahead of World Press Freedom Day.
In a statement released on Friday, May 1, Bennett said media freedom has deteriorated significantly since the Taliban returned to power, with journalists operating under increasing pressure, censorship, and threats. He noted that reporting on sensitive issues, particularly women’s and girls’ rights, has become increasingly risky.
He added that journalists face arbitrary detention, intimidation, and surveillance, while civil society activists and individuals cooperating with media outlets are also being targeted. These conditions, he said, have created a climate of fear affecting both professionals and the broader public.
Since 2021, Afghanistan’s media landscape has undergone major changes, with many independent outlets closing or scaling back operations due to financial constraints and regulatory restrictions. Female journalists have been particularly affected, with many forced out of work or limited in their roles.
International organizations have repeatedly raised concerns about declining press freedom in Afghanistan, warning that restrictions on information flow undermine transparency and accountability. Access to reliable news has become more limited, especially in remote areas.
Bennett warned that these pressures are fueling widespread self-censorship, reducing the free flow of information and limiting public awareness of critical issues. He stressed that an independent media sector is essential for protecting human rights and ensuring accountability.
Despite the challenges, Afghan journalists continue to play a crucial role in documenting developments and exposing rights concerns. Bennett called for stronger international support to protect media workers and uphold freedom of expression.
The statement underscores growing concern that without urgent action, the space for independent journalism in Afghanistan could shrink further, with long-term consequences for human rights and democratic principles.
UN expert urges release of detained journalists in Afghanistan
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — An alleged Islamic State group militant from Afghanistan was convicted on Wednesday of aiding the terror organization that took credit for a deadly suicide bombing at a Kabul airport, but a jury couldn’t agree on whether he bears some responsibility for that attack during the U.S. military’s chaotic withdrawal from the country in 2021.
Mohammad Sharifullah faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years after his one-count conviction in an international terrorism case that President Donald Trump heralded last year during a speech to a joint session of Congress. Sharifullah didn’t testify at his weeklong trial.
Approximately 160 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members were killed in the Aug. 26, 2021, attack at the airport, where U.S. troops were conducting an evacuation operation when a lone suicide bomber detonated an improvised explosive device near an entry point known as Abbey Gate.
A federal jury in Virginia convicted Sharifullah of providing material support to an Islamic State regional branch known as ISIS-K. But the jurors deadlocked on whether any deaths at the airport “resulted from” that conspiracy. Sharifullah could have faced a possible life sentence if the jury had unanimously decided that question.
Sharifullah didn’t appear to have any visible reaction to the verdict. U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga didn’t immediately set a date for Sharifullah’s sentencing.
The jury deliberated for roughly eight hours over two days. In a note to the judge, jurors indicated that they quickly reached a unanimous decision to convict Sharifullah of conspiracy but couldn’t agree on the element that could have significantly enhanced the severity of his sentence. The judge rejected a prosecutor’s request to give them more time to deliberate.
Defense attorney Lauren Rosen argued that prosecutors failed to present any evidence tying Sharifullah to the bombing besides his own words during hours of FBI questioning. Rosen said Sharifullah told FBI agents what he thought they wanted to hear, possibly because he was afraid of being tortured in Pakistani custody before he was brought to the U.S.
“The problem was, he didn’t know much about what actually happened that day,” Rosen told jurors during the trial’s closing arguments. “The government has told you nothing about how this attack actually happened.”
Justice Department prosecutor Ryan White said Sharifullah played a crucial role in planning the Abbey Gate bombing and was involved in several other attacks by ISIS-K, including its March 2024 attack at a Moscow concert hall that killed roughly 140 people.
“The defendant thought nothing of killing,” White said. “For him, it was just another day at the office.”
A review by U.S. Central Command found that the Abbey Gate bomber was Abdul Rahman al-Logari, an Islamic State group militant who had been released from an Afghan prison by the Taliban. Sharifullah recognized the alleged bomber as an operative he had known while incarcerated, according to an FBI affidavit.
A former Marine testified to Congress that he and others had spotted two possible suspects behaving suspiciously on the morning of the bombing but didn’t get permission to act. However, the Central Command review concluded that the snipers hadn’t seen the actual bomber and that the attack was not preventable.
A prosecutor assigned to the Abbey Gate case was fired last year after a right-wing commentator publicly criticized him over his work during President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration. Michael Ben’Ary’s ouster was part of a broader purge of Justice Department veterans deemed to be insufficiently loyal to Trump, a Republican.
During his most recent presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly condemned Biden for his role in the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal and blamed him for the Abbey Gate attack.
Biden’s White House was following a withdrawal commitment and timeline that the first Trump administration had negotiated with the Taliban in 2020. A 2022 review by a government-appointed special investigator concluded decisions made by both Trump and Biden were the key factors leading to the rapid collapse of Afghanistan’s military and the Taliban takeover.
White, the prosecutor, said Sharifullah told a journalist that he wanted to “catch and kill the crusaders” from the U.S. for invading his country after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
“This case is not complicated,” White said. “The defendant told you everything you need to know.”
Rosen said U.S. authorities accepted ISIS propaganda at face value when the group took responsibility for the airport bombing. She suggested that militants from a Taliban offshoot were manning Abbey Gate and could have been involved in the attack.
“You can’t base your verdict on mere conjecture and speculation,” Rosen said. “That’s what the prosecution is asking you to do.”
Man convicted of aiding IS group, but jury deadlocks on alleged role in deadly Kabul airport bombing
Civilian casualties in Kunar raise tensions as Pakistan denies role, casting shadow over ceasefire and peace talks.
Islamabad, Pakistan – Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities say Pakistani mortars and missiles struck a university and residential neighbourhoods in the eastern province of Kunar on Monday, killing at least seven people and wounding more than 80.
Taliban deputy spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said the strikes hit the city of Asadabad, the provincial capital, as well as surrounding districts.
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Higher Education said about 30 students and professors were among the wounded, with Sayed Jamaluddin Afghani University sustaining extensive damage to its buildings and grounds.
Fitrat called the attacks “unforgivable war crimes” against civilians and academic institutions.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting rejected the account, describing reports that Pakistani forces had struck the university as a “blatant lie”.
In a statement posted on X, the ministry said no strike had been carried out on the university and that Pakistan’s targeting is “precise and intelligence based”, though it did not explicitly rule out any attack within Afghan territory.
Afghan and Pakistani officials have separately confirmed to Al Jazeera that the two sides have been exchanging fire along their porous border, even though they are formally observing a ceasefire. Kunar is a border province.
The competing claims over the attack on the university have now raised fears that the already fragile ceasefire might completely collapse. The heightened tensions follow days after peace talks held in the Chinese city of Urumqi between the two sides that Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi described as “positive”.
A process under strain
The Urumqi talks, hosted by China in early April, brought delegations from both sides together for the first time since the conflict’s most intense phase in February and March, when Pakistan struck Kabul multiple times and declared it was in “open war” with Afghanistan.
Afghanistan described the discussions as “useful”. Pakistan said further progress would depend on Kabul. The talks ended without a formal agreement or joint statement.
Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban of providing sanctuary to the Pakistan Taliban, known by the acronym TTP, which emerged in 2007 and, while distinct from the Afghan Taliban, shares deep ideological, social and linguistic ties with the group. The TTP and other groups have carried out a sustained campaign of attacks across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, according to Pakistani authorities.
Afghanistan rejects accusations that it is sheltering or aiding the TTP and other anti-Pakistan groups.
Mehmood Jan Babar, a Peshawar-based political and security analyst, said the engagement in Urumqi was thin from the start.
Delegations were at the level of diplomats, with no political contact throughout. Pakistan, he said, maintained a firm position and demanded action in writing.
“Until Afghanistan puts something in writing, no verbal commitment will be trusted,” Babar told Al Jazeera. “That is what was said in Urumqi, and that is where things stand.”
Representatives of China, Pakistan and Afghanistan held weeklong informal talks in Urumqi, Xinjiang, from April 1 to 7, 2026. The delegations of the three sides included representatives from authorities in charge of foreign affairs, defence and security [Handout/Ministry of Foreign Affairs for People’s Republic of China]
Tameem Bahiss, a Kabul-based security analyst, said the outcome reflected how little ground either side had shifted.
“The negotiations in Urumqi did not achieve a clear settlement or agreement,” he told Al Jazeera. “Both sides may agree to talks under pressure from regional countries, but once the talks end, the same problems return.”
Babar noted some softening on the Afghan side.
Muttaqi had reportedly instructed senior ministers to use more restrained language on Pakistan, he said, given how much Kabul has at stake in its relationship with Islamabad.
“But Pakistan’s core position has not changed,” Babar said.
The limits of mediation
This is not the first time a diplomatic opening has quickly unravelled.
A ceasefire mediated by Qatar and Turkiye in October 2025 was followed by continued low-level clashes.
A temporary Eid ceasefire in March after fighting had resumed in February – brokered at the request of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkiye – was almost immediately disputed.
The Taliban alleged Pakistan carried out dozens of mortar strikes in Kunar while the truce was still in effect.
The most contentious episode came on March 16, when a Pakistani air strike destroyed the Omar Hospital in Kabul, a 2,000-bed addiction treatment facility.
Afghan officials put the death toll at more than 400. The United Nations recorded 143.
Pakistan insisted that its target was not the hospital, but nearby military installations and an ammunition depot. The incident remains the most disputed of the conflict.
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and China have all attempted to broker a lasting arrangement.
Babar said Pakistan had briefed all of them on its position that cross-border attacks on Pakistani soil had decreased when Pakistan carried out its own operations.
“That is a valid argument, and it is holding weight right now,” he said.
But Bahiss said the repeated failures point to something structural.
“The main problem is that Pakistan and Afghanistan have very different views of the security situation,” he said. “If both sides cannot even agree on the nature of the problem, it becomes very difficult for mediators to agree on a solution.”
The Kabul-based analyst added that internal pressures make compromise difficult on both sides.
“Pakistan risks looking weak domestically if it accepts vague assurances and the Taliban risks looking as though it is yielding to outside pressure [if it accepts Islamabad’s assertions],” he said.
The TTP impasse
At the core of the conflict is a dispute that predates the current fighting.
Kabul denies harbouring the TTP and has accused Islamabad of using attacks in Pakistan as a pretext for interference in Afghan affairs.
Pakistan maintains that the burden lies with Kabul to take verifiable action and has sought written assurances that it says have not been provided.
Bahiss said months of military pressure have yielded little.
“The Taliban have not accepted Pakistan’s main demand in the way Islamabad wants,” he said. “They may be unwilling because of ideological or historical links, or unable because acting against the TTP could create internal divisions. Whatever the reason, the outcome is the same: Pakistan’s demands remain unmet.”
Babar said the picture inside Afghanistan is more complex than a flat refusal.
Several factions within the Taliban hold differing views, he said, with some facing public pressure.
He added that the Afghan Taliban had arrested a significant number of TTP members and their families and transferred them from the eastern provinces deeper into Afghanistan, though it remained unclear whether this constituted a policy shift or a tactical adjustment.
Afghan officials, meanwhile, argue that Pakistan’s campaign has caused civilian casualties that harden public opinion without addressing the underlying drivers of violence.
Talks without trust?
China’s role as host of the Urumqi talks carries weight. Beijing is Pakistan’s largest trading partner and has significant infrastructure investments in both countries through the economic corridor. It has a direct interest in stabilising the border.
But Babar said no agreement is possible without a written guarantee and a guarantor to enforce it.
He pointed to the Doha accord in 2020, in which the Taliban gave a written commitment that Afghan soil would not be used against any country, a commitment Pakistan says was violated.
The Doha Agreement, signed in February 2020 between the United States and the Afghan Taliban, committed the Taliban to preventing Afghan soil from being used by any group to threaten US or allied security, in exchange for a full withdrawal of US and NATO forces from Afghanistan.
“Pakistan does not want to enter into any agreement that brings it no tangible benefit,” he said. “Until a written commitment comes, nothing else moves.”
Afghanistan has its own demands: That Pakistan keep borders open, allow trade, resume visas and accommodate Afghan refugees already in the country.
Babar acknowledged those as legitimate. But he said Pakistan’s line remained firm – that cross-border attacks must end in writing first.
“And since that commitment is not coming,” he said, “I do not see any agreement possible in the near future.”
Bahiss said external mediation cannot substitute for trust.
“A credible verification mechanism would require both sides to agree on how incidents are investigated, who verifies violations, and what happens if either side breaks the agreement,” he said.
“Without that, any agreement will remain fragile and may collapse as soon as the next attack or accusation takes place.”
‘War crime’: Afghan-Pakistan truce under strain after university strike
UN OCHA reports rising security incidents disrupting aid in Afghanistan as hunger crisis worsens, with the country ranked among worst globally.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said 86 security incidents and aid disruptions were recorded in Afghanistan in March, resulting in the death of one aid worker.
The agency said most incidents occurred in eastern and southeastern region, particularly during cross-border tensions, while three aid workers were detained during the same period.
OCHA also reported major access challenges, including road closures in Nuristan’s Kamdesh and Barg-e-Matal districts, which significantly hindered humanitarian operations.
Restrictions on women further impacted aid delivery, with 14 cases recorded where female staff were barred from working, including exclusion from a midwifery training session in Nangarhar.
The disruptions come as Afghanistan faces one of the world’s worst hunger crises, recently ranked fifth globally for acute food insecurity in the Global Food Crises 2026 report.
Aid agencies warn that millions remain dependent on humanitarian assistance, with access constraints and insecurity worsening already fragile conditions.
Flooding, heavy rains, and natural disasters have further complicated relief efforts, damaging infrastructure and limiting the ability of agencies to reach vulnerable populations.
Humanitarian groups stress that continued restrictions, funding shortages, and security risks could deepen the crisis, threatening food access, healthcare delivery, and overall stability across the country.
UN: Aid Disruptions Rise in Afghanistan, One Worker Killed
US lawmakers criticize reported Trump administration plan to relocate Afghan allies from Qatar camp to conflict-hit Democratic Republic of Congo.
US Senator Jeff Merkley has strongly condemned reported plans by the Trump administration to transfer Afghan nationals from a holding facility in Qatar to the Democratic Republic of Congo, calling the proposal “evil and wrong.”
Merkley said the individuals include families of US service members and Afghan allies who served as interpreters and special operations support during the war in Afghanistan, risking their lives for American forces.
He warned that sending vulnerable Afghan refugees to a conflict-affected country like Democratic Republic of the Congo would endanger civilians, including hundreds of children currently housed in the Qatar facility.
The comments come as reports indicate around 1,100 Afghan evacuees remain in the Qatar camp after being relocated during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, awaiting long-term resettlement decisions.
The situation reflects ongoing uncertainty for thousands of Afghan refugees who remain stranded in transit countries, particularly in Qatar, amid stalled relocation programs and shifting US immigration policies.
Humanitarian groups warn that prolonged stays in temporary facilities are worsening mental health conditions, family separation, and legal insecurity for Afghan evacuees waiting for resettlement.
Afghanistan continues to face a deep humanitarian crisis, with widespread poverty, unemployment, and limited access to basic services following years of conflict and economic isolation.
Aid agencies including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees have repeatedly urged faster international solutions for Afghan refugees, warning that delays in resettlement increase vulnerability and instability.
Several US senators, including Tammy Duckworth, Tim Kaine, and Ed Markey, have also criticized the reported relocation plan, calling for an immediate halt and stronger protections for Afghan allies.
US Senators Condemn Reported Plan to Transfer Afghan Allies From Qatar to Congo
The United Nations says aid workers are still in a “race against time” to remove rubble and rebuild after the devastating earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan last month, killing at least 2,200 people and cutting off remote areas.
The 6.0-magnitude quake on Aug. 31 was shallow, destroying or causing extensive damage to low-rise buildings in the mountainous region. It hit late at night, and homes — mostly made of mud, wood, or rocks — collapsed instantly, becoming death traps.
Satellite data shows that about 40,500 truckloads of debris still needs to be cleared from affected areas in several provinces, the United Nations Development Program said Wednesday. Entire communities have been upended and families are sleeping in the open, it added.
The quake’s epicenter was in remote and rugged Kunar province, challenging rescue and relief efforts by the Taliban government and humanitarian groups. Authorities deployed helicopters or airdropped army commandos to evacuate survivors. Aid workers walked for hours on foot to reach isolated communities.
“This is a race against time,” said Devanand Ramiah, from the UNDP’s Crisis Bureau. “Debris removal and reconstruction operations must start safely and swiftly.”
People’s main demands were the reconstruction of houses and water supplies, according to a spokesman for a Taliban government committee tasked with helping survivors, Zia ur Rahman Speenghar.
People were getting assistance in cash, food, tents, beds, and other necessities, Speenghar said Thursday. Three new roads were under construction in the Dewagal Valley, and roads would be built to areas where there previously were none.
“Various countries and organizations have offered assistance in the construction of houses but that takes time. After the second round of assistance, work will begin on the third round, which is considering what kind of houses can be built here,” the spokesman said.
Afghanistan is facing a “perfect storm” of crises, including natural disasters like the recent earthquake, said Roza Otunbayeva, who leads the U.N. mission to the country.
Afghanistan Peace Campaign
![Representatives of China, Pakistan and Afghanistan held week-long informal talks in Urumqi, Xinjiang from April 1 to 7, 2026. The delegations of the three sides included representatives from authorities in charge of foreign affairs, defense and security. [Handout/Ministry of Foreign Affairs for People's Republic of China]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/china-pak-afgg-1777371538.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C563&quality=80)
