The fragile truce between Pakistan and Afghanistan, mediated by China less than three weeks ago, appears to have shattered. In recent hours, the eastern Afghan province of Kunar has become the stage for a violent offensive conducted by the Pakistani armed forces, who deployed fighter jets and drones to strike targets that appear to be almost exclusively civilian. Reports emerging from the districts of Asadabad, Marawara, Sarkano, and Kerhala—critical points along the “Durand Line,” the contested border—describe a scene of devastation. Although casualty figures are still being updated, local health authorities cited by the BBC indicate a true slaughter of civilians: at least 13 confirmed dead, including women and children, and approximately 130 wounded. Among them, the most critical situation involves youth: 30 university students and a professor from Kunar University were hit while inside the campus, where missiles struck the dormitory of the Institute of Education and Training along with several other buildings. A professor at the university reported massive explosions that gutted school buildings while classes were in session. Furthermore, fuel depots were reportedly hit, triggering secondary fires that destroyed surrounding civilian homes. Local hospitals—under-equipped and already strained by years of isolation and a deepening economic crisis—are now overcrowded, struggling to manage the constant influx of civilians mutilated by the blasts. Severe damage has also been reported in the villages of Saagay and Yargul.
While the Pakistani Ministry of Information denies all responsibility and officially dismisses the allegations as “false,” the operation does not appear accidental or improvised. Meanwhile, the advance of Pakistani troops several kilometers into Afghan territory continues, suggesting an attempt to seize control of key routes crossing Kunar and Nuristan toward Badakhshan—a province bordering Tajikistan, China, and Pakistan. The strategic objective appears to be isolating the region and striking the supply chains of the National Resistance Front (NRF) fighters. Kunar is not merely a border province; it is the entry point for a series of natural corridors leading directly to resistance strongholds. It might seem paradoxical for Pakistan to strike a group (the NRF) that opposes the Taliban (with whom Islamabad has strained relations). However, the Pakistani strategy responds to internal logic: Islamabad fears that an unstable and uncontrolled Kunar could become a sanctuary not only for the NRF but, above all, for the TTP (Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan), which utilizes the same routes to launch attacks inside Pakistan.
However, the fact that no Taliban government structures were hit raises serious questions about the nature of the operation. More than a counter-terrorism mission, the attack appears aimed at sowing terror among the population. By forcing civilians to flee toward the interior of Afghanistan, Pakistan can create a de facto no-man’s-land in a trail of increasingly bloody cross-border violence. Only in early March, a Pakistani raid on a drug rehabilitation center in Kabul caused the deaths of 269 people—an event harshly condemned by the United Nations, yet without any tangible international consequences. This time, educational institutions have been targeted. In early April, under the aegis of Beijing, representatives from Kabul and Islamabad sat at the same table in Urumqi, China, in the Xinjiang region. The stated goal was to stabilize the border, curb militant incursions, and initiate economic cooperation; however, the events in Kunar contradict every word spoken.
Without immediate diplomatic intervention, the powderkeg along the controversial Durand Line could explode, turning Kunar province into the epicenter of a new, bloody border war where, as always, civilians pay the highest price.
