UN Report: 499 Afghan Civilians Killed in Cross-Border Fighting with Pakistan
The United Nations has documented 499 civilian deaths and 1,216 injuries in Afghanistan due to cross-border fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan from October 2025 to the end of June 2026, according to a report released on Tuesday.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) noted that the violence has persisted despite international peace efforts. The report also highlighted other human rights concerns, including a crackdown on women's dress code protests in Herat and decrees that effectively legalise child marriage.
One incident described in the report involved two successive airstrikes on a residential building in the eastern province of Paktia on June 28, which killed five children and wounded 185 others. Most casualties occurred from the second strike as locals attempted to rescue victims of the first. UNAMA human rights director Fiona Frazer stated that attacks on first responders are strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law.
In the deadliest single attack, a Pakistani airstrike hit a drug treatment centre in Kabul in March, killing hundreds of civilians. Rights group Amnesty International called for an investigation into the bombing as a possible war crime.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry responded to the report by stating that Afghanistan's Taliban government maintains a permissive environment for militant groups. The response did not address Afghan civilian casualties but claimed that Pakistan's military strikes targeted only terrorist hideouts and sanctuaries linked to groups responsible for attacks inside Pakistan.
The report also detailed severe restrictions on women under Afghanistan's Taliban government, including bans on education beyond primary school, strict dress codes, and prohibitions on work. In Herat in June, at least 30 women were arrested for alleged dress code violations. One person was killed and several injured when authorities opened fire during a protest against the detentions.
UNAMA is mandated only to monitor incidents in Afghanistan, and no overall figure for Pakistani civilian casualties from the fighting was provided.
