Pakistan Mortars Hit Kunar University, Killing At Least Seven and Injuring More Than 80

Afghanistan and Pakistan faced a fresh surge of hostility after Afghan authorities said Pakistani mortar shells and rockets hit a university and residential neighborhoods in eastern Kunar Province, killing at least seven people and injuring more than 80 others.

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In the account given to Al Jazeera, Taliban deputy spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said the strikes targeted the city of Asadabad, the provincial capital, as well as surrounding areas, and he described them as “unforgivable war crimes” against civilians and educational institutions.

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The Afghan Ministry of Higher Education said about 30 students and professors were among the injured, and it said Sayyid Jamaluddin Afghan University suffered extensive damage to its buildings and facilities.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting rejected the Afghan account, describing reports that Pakistani forces bombed the university as “an outright lie,” and it said that targeting of Pakistan is “precise and based on intelligence.”

In a separate report, the Guardian said mortars and missiles fired from Pakistan struck a university and civilian homes, killing seven people and wounding at least 85, while Pakistan denied targeting a university.

Other outlets reported different casualty totals: Al-Araby Al Jadeed said initial reports indicated the strike killed three people and wounded 45, while Al Jazeera’s own reporting cited “more than 80” injured.

The dispute over the attack’s impact quickly became part of the broader diplomatic breakdown around the ceasefire.

The university attack landed amid warnings that it could unravel a fragile ceasefire between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Al Jazeera reported that Afghan and Pakistani officials said the two sides are exchanging sporadic fire along their overlapping border even though they are officially committed to a ceasefire.

Al Jazeera

The same reporting tied the escalation to conflicting accounts about the university strike, raising fears that the already fragile agreement could collapse.

It also placed the moment after days of peace talks held in Ürümqi, China in early April, which Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi described as positive.

Al Jazeera said the talks brought delegations from both sides together for the first time since the most intense phases of the conflict in February and March, when Pakistan carried out multiple strikes on Kabul and announced it was in an “open war” with Afghanistan.

The talks ended without an official agreement or joint statement, and Pakistan said further progress would depend on Kabul’s stance.

A Peshawar-based analyst, Mahmood Jan Baber, told Al Jazeera that engagement in Ürümqi was limited and that “Until Afghanistan puts something in writing, no one will trust any verbal pledge.”

Another analyst, Tameem Bahiss, said the negotiations in Ürümqi “did not yield a settlement or a clear agreement,” and he added that “the same problems recur.”

The dispute also echoed earlier ceasefire failures, including a ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey in October 2025 followed by continued low-level clashes and a March truce that was disputed after Afghan accusations of dozens of strikes in Kunar.

As the casualty figures and responsibility claims diverged, officials and analysts used sharply different language to describe the same incident.

“An incident in eastern Kunar Province that killed at least seven people the day before yesterday sparked an escalating wave of tension between Afghanistan and Pakistan, amid warnings that it could unravel a fragile ceasefire between the two countries”

Al-Jazeera Net

Taliban deputy spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat told Al Jazeera that the strikes were “unforgivable war crimes” against civilians and educational institutions, and he said the attacks hit Asadabad and surrounding districts.

In a statement posted on X, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said no strike on the university had been carried out and that the targeting of Pakistan is “precise and based on intelligence,” while it did not explicitly deny an attack inside Afghan territory.

The Guardian reported that Pakistan’s information ministry said: “Pakistan’s targeting is precise and intelligence-based. No strike has been carried out on Sayed Jamaluddin Afghan University. The claims are frivolous and fake.”

The Dhaka-based reporting in DNA India quoted Fitrat condemning the “unprecedented strike” and calling it “grave and inexcusable war crimes, a blatant act of brutality, and a provocative action,” while it also quoted Taliban sources speaking to CNN-News18 about “a blatant violation of sovereignty and international norms.”

On the Afghan side, KabulNow reported that Hamid Karzai condemned Pakistan’s strikes and said he considers them “part of Pakistan’s policy to destroy the foundations of education and development in Afghanistan.”

Analysts also framed the diplomatic problem in different ways: Mahmood Jan Babar told Al Jazeera that “Until Afghanistan puts something in writing, no one will trust any verbal pledge,” while Tameem Bahiss said the “negotiations in Urumqi did not achieve a clear settlement or agreement.”

The competing narratives were reinforced by the fact that some outlets reported different casualty totals, with the Guardian citing seven killed and at least 85 wounded, while Al-Araby Al Jadeed cited three killed and 45 wounded.

Across the accounts, the same core dispute—whether Pakistan struck the university and how many were hurt—became the argument each side used to justify its next steps.

Different outlets emphasized different aspects of the same Kunar university attack, producing sharply contrasting narratives even when describing the same locations.

Al Jazeera foregrounded the ceasefire risk and the competing claims, saying the conflicting accounts raised fears that the “already fragile ceasefire might completely collapse,” and it described the Urumqi talks as “positive” while noting they ended without a joint statement.

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The Guardian framed the incident as the first violent episode after Chinese-mediated peace talks, writing that Monday’s strikes were “the first violent incident since Chinese-mediated peace talks between the two sides earlier this month,” and it included on-the-ground hospital testimony from a “22-year-old labourer” and a “40-year-old teacher.”

DNA India presented the Taliban’s condemnation as “grave and inexcusable war crimes” and described the attack as disrupting classes for “thousands of students,” while also claiming that “Several schools and colleges have sustained damage or suspended operations.”

KabulNow, meanwhile, reported that the Taliban’s Ministry of Higher Education confirmed the university came under a “rocket attack” by Pakistan and said “around 30 university lecturers and students were wounded,” while it also listed additional districts targeted, including Sarkano, Dangam, and Manogai.

Al-Araby Al Jadeed emphasized a lower casualty count and described drones targeting Kunar University and other areas, while it also included a separate account of clashes around Spin Boldak and the killing of a child.

The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette described the strikes as “the first violent incident since Chinese-mediated peace talks,” and it quoted Pakistan’s information ministry dismissing Afghan reports as “a blatant lie.”

commonspace.eu framed the incident as “Pakistan bombs University in nearby Afghanistan” and asserted that the resumption of violence “threatens fragile peace talks,” while it also described a Pakistan border spokesman calling the South Waziristan incident “the most serious clash since the ceasefire was declared.”

Across these accounts, the same event—mortars and missiles hitting Asadabad and the university—was used to support different conclusions about whether the ceasefire could hold and whether the attack was deliberate.

The sources portray the immediate aftermath as a test of whether mediation can contain escalation and whether both sides will accept any enforceable commitments.

“WORLD Deputy Taliban spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said attacks launched by Pakistan in Asadabad and parts of Manogai District left four people dead and 70 civilians wounded, including 30 students”

DNA India

Al Jazeera reported that Afghan and Pakistani officials said they are exchanging sporadic fire along their overlapping border even while they are officially committed to a ceasefire, and it linked the university strike to fears of collapse.

DNA India

The Al Jazeera reporting also recalled that earlier ceasefire efforts—brokered by Qatar and Turkey in October 2025 and a temporary Eid truce in March—were followed by disputes, including Afghan accusations that Pakistan carried out dozens of mortar strikes in Kunar while the truce was in effect.

In the same reporting, the UNAMA stressed the need not to use or target civilian infrastructure, especially schools and universities, during hostilities, and the European Union delegation in Afghanistan condemned the Pakistani strikes on Kunar Province, stressing that educational institutions should not be targeted during conflict.

KabulNow described ongoing escalation along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border that began in late February 2026 and said violence contributed to widespread displacement and damage to civilian infrastructure, including schools and health facilities.

It also reported that tribal elders from Afghanistan’s Sarkano district and Pakistan’s Bajaur district engaged in talks aimed at securing a ceasefire and de-escalating the situation.

commonspace.eu said the two countries agreed to a fragile ceasefire in March that halted weeks of violence and that China later mediated an agreement to avoid escalation, while it also described continued sporadic violence.

Across the accounts, the central unresolved issue remains Pakistan’s demand that Afghanistan dismantle the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), with analysts warning that without written commitments trust will not return.

As the competing casualty figures and accusations persist—ranging from seven killed and at least 85 wounded in the Guardian to three killed and 45 wounded in Al-Araby Al Jadeed—the next phase of diplomacy appears constrained by the same dispute that triggered this round of escalation.