Pakistan strikes Kabul again as Afghan ceasefire frays
Last updated: 08:31 UTC, May 03 2026 | Started: 2026-05-03 08:31 | 1 update(s) | Avg confidence: 82/100
The story so far: Pakistan and Afghanistan have clashed repeatedly since the Taliban retook Kabul in August 2021. The core dispute is Pakistan's accusation that the Taliban government shelters Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants who carry out attacks inside Pakistan — a charge Kabul denies. The 2,640-km Durand Line border, which Afghanistan has never formally recognised, has been the flashpoint for decades of intermittent conflict, with the current war beginning in February 2026 after a Qatar-brokered October 2025 ceasefire collapsed.
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2026-05-03 08:31 — Pakistan strikes Kabul again as Afghan ceasefire frays
Cross-border armed combat involving Pakistan and Afghanistan was detected in the Kabul area on May 3, 2026, as part of an ongoing war that began on February 21, 2026, when Pakistan launched airstrikes in Nangarhar, Paktika, and Khost provinces targeting alleged TTP and ISIS-K camps, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters.
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What We Know
- Cross-border armed combat involving Pakistan and Afghanistan was detected in the Kabul area on May 3, 2026, as part of an ongoing war that began on February 21, 2026, when Pakistan launched airstrikes in Nangarhar, Paktika, and Khost provinces targeting alleged TTP and ISIS-K camps, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters.
- Pakistan declared 'open war' on Afghanistan on February 27, 2026, after Taliban forces launched retaliatory cross-border attacks on Pakistani military positions, prompting Pakistan to launch Operation Ghazab Lil Haq — air and ground strikes across Kabul, Kandahar, Paktia, and Nangarhar, according to Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and corroborated by Al Jazeera, NPR, and CNN.
- A China-brokered ceasefire agreed in March 2026 is now under serious strain: late April Pakistani strikes in Kunar province killed at least four civilians and wounded more than 70, hitting residential areas and Sayed Jamaluddin Afghani University in Asadabad, according to Taliban Deputy Spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat and reported by Al Jazeera on April 28, 2026.
- The war's most lethal single incident occurred on March 16, 2026, when a Pakistani airstrike destroyed the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul. Afghan authorities put the death toll at over 400; UNAMA confirmed at least 269 killed and 122 injured; Pakistan denied deliberately targeting the facility, claiming it struck nearby military installations.
- UN experts from OHCHR declared in March 2026 that Pakistan's use of force violated Article 2 of the UN Charter and that no credible evidence had been published establishing Afghan state direction or control of TTP attacks, a charge Pakistan has not formally rebutted at the UN Security Council.
Still Unclear
- Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and PM spokesperson Mosharraf Zaidi (via Al Jazeera and NPR): Pakistan's military says it has killed at least 663–684 Afghan Taliban fighters since the start of the conflict, destroyed over 249 checkposts, and targeted only military installations.
Taliban Deputy Spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat and Afghan Ministry of Defence (via Al Jazeera): Taliban authorities say Pakistani attacks killed at least 761 civilians between February 22 and April 3, including women and children, and that 100+ Pakistani soldiers have been killed by Afghan forces.
- Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar: Pakistan says the March 16 Kabul strike targeted military infrastructure and an ammunition depot near Camp Phoenix; secondary explosions explain the scale of damage at the hospital.
UNAMA, Human Rights Watch, Bellingcat researcher Trevor Ball: UNAMA, Human Rights Watch, Bellingcat, and Sky News analysis of Pakistani footage confirmed the strike directly hit the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital, with no evidence of secondary weapons detonations.
- Pakistani military officials (via Al Jazeera, April 28, 2026): Pakistan says the late April strikes in Kunar were directed at militant infrastructure.
Taliban Deputy Spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat; Afghanistan Ministry of Higher Education (via Al Jazeera): Afghanistan says the strikes hit a university campus, residential neighbourhoods, a fuel station, and a drug rehabilitation centre in Asadabad, killing seven and wounding over 80.
- (Unverified — single source; Pakistani officials categorically deny these figures; not independently corroborated) Taliban forces killed more than 150 Pakistani soldiers and destroyed 40 border posts since the start of hostilities. [Taliban government spokesperson (via Wikipedia/2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan war)]
- (Unverified — single source; analytical claim by a partisan former official; not independently corroborated) Pakistan deliberately timed its airstrikes to coincide with the 2026 Iran–US war to minimise international attention. [Sultan Ahmad Baheen, former Afghan ambassador to China]
- (Unverified — single source; not independently corroborated by named journalists or officials) Taliban forces used facilities inside the former Camp Phoenix military base to manufacture small combat drones. [Wikipedia/2026 Kabul hospital airstrike article]
Key Figures
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|
| Civilians displaced by conflict | ~115,000 in Afghanistan; ~3,000 in Pakistan | UNHCR (via Al Jazeera and Wikipedia) |
| Confirmed civilian casualties in Afghanistan (Feb 26 – mid-March 2026) | At least 76 killed, 213 injured | UNAMA (via OHCHR press release, March 2026) |
| Death toll at Omid Hospital strike, Kabul (March 16, 2026) | At least 269 killed, 122 injured (UNAMA); Afghan govt claims 400+ | UNAMA; Taliban Deputy Spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat |
| Afghan Taliban fighters killed (Pakistani claim, cumulative) | 663–684 | Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar (via Al Jazeera) |
| Pakistani soldiers killed (Pakistani acknowledged figure, as of late Feb 2026) | At least 12 killed, 27 wounded | Pakistan Army spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry (via NPR/Al Jazeera) |
| Length of disputed Durand Line border | 2,640 km (1,640 miles) | Al Jazeera |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Pakistan and Afghanistan go to war in 2026?
Pakistan launched airstrikes on February 21, 2026, targeting alleged TTP and ISIS-K camps in eastern Afghanistan, citing Pakistani militant attacks in Islamabad, Bajaur, and Bannu. Afghanistan retaliated on February 26, prompting Pakistan to declare 'open war' and launch Operation Ghazab Lil Haq. The root cause is Pakistan's demand that Kabul crack down on the TTP, which Kabul denies sheltering.
Is there a ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan right now?
A fragile ceasefire brokered during Eid al-Fitr in March 2026 nominally holds, but both sides have reported violations. Late April Pakistani strikes on Kunar province — which killed civilians and damaged a university — are described by Al Jazeera and analysts as the most serious escalation since the truce. China-mediated talks in Urumqi in April ended without a formal agreement.
What is the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan due to the Pakistan conflict?
UNHCR estimates approximately 115,000 people have been displaced inside Afghanistan. UNAMA confirmed at least 76 civilians killed and 213 injured in the conflict's first three weeks alone. Nineteen health facilities in Kunar and Nangarhar are partially or fully non-functional, and over 13,000 students face disruptions, according to reporting cited by the Afghan Diaspora Network.
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