Missile Strike Kills Three, Injures 45 in Afghanistan's Kunar Province

(MENAFN) At least three people are dead and dozens more wounded after missiles struck northeastern Afghanistan in an attack that local officials have attributed to Pakistan, a regional broadcaster reported Monday — threatening to unravel a fragile ceasefire brokered just weeks ago.

Najibullah Hanif, head of Information and Culture for Kunar province, told Kabul-based Tolo News that the death toll included women and children among the 45 casualties recorded following strikes on Asadabad city — the provincial capital of Kunar, which shares a border with Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Islamabad had not issued any immediate response to the allegations at the time of reporting.

Ceasefire Under Strain
The strike lands at a particularly sensitive moment in Afghan-Pakistani relations. The two neighbors endured some of their most devastating border confrontations in March, with hundreds of civilians, soldiers, and militants killed on both sides over the course of the clashes.

The violence was halted only after Kabul and Islamabad agreed to a ceasefire on March 18 — the eve of Eid al-Fitr — following diplomatic interventions by Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.

In the weeks that followed, officials from both countries convened week-long negotiations in China's northwestern city of Urumqi, with Beijing serving as mediator. China said the two sides had agreed to "discuss a comprehensive plan to resolve issues" straining bilateral ties.

Monday's reported strike now casts a long shadow over those diplomatic efforts, raising urgent questions about whether the fragile détente can survive fresh hostilities on the ground.

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