Pakistani Shelling in Afghanistan's Kunar Province Kills One Civilian, Wounds 16

Pakistani forces launched rocket and heavy-weapon attacks on residential areas in Afghanistan's eastern Kunar province on Sunday evening around 5 p.m., killing at least one civilian and injuring 16 others, mostly women and children, Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman, said.

The strikes hit areas around Asadabad, the provincial capital of Kunar, and nearby homes, targeting civilian residences rather than military positions, Fitrat said. He added that the wounded had been transferred for medical treatment and accused Pakistan of using heavy fire in populated border areas.

The incident follows the resumption of fighting along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border after the collapse of an Eid ceasefire. Pakistan maintains that its operations target Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants who use Afghan territory as a base, a claim denied by authorities in Kabul.

A Pak-Afghan Peace Jirga is scheduled for March 31 in Peshawar, bringing together political leaders, tribal elders and others in the hope of issuing a joint peace declaration to ease ongoing conflicts.

The United Nations has warned that dozens of civilians have been killed or wounded in recent cross-border violence, while aid agencies report that 115,000 people have been displaced.