Hundreds of families displaced by recent border clashes in the east are living in makeshift camps with little shelter, food or access to basic services, as humanitarian needs deepen days after their arrival.
In open, dusty fields of Momand Dara district in Nangarhar province, rows of worn tents — some patched together with plastic sheets and cloth — now house hundreds of people who fled their homes along the border.
Children walk barefoot across rocky ground, while families share cramped spaces under thin canvas shelters that offer little protection from shifting weather conditions.
Many of the displaced say they are struggling to meet even their most basic needs.
“We have nothing here — no proper tents, no food, no clean water,” said Jalaluddin, who fled his home with his family during recent shelling. “We escaped to save our lives, but now we don’t know how to live.”
In several parts of the camp, families have dug shallow trenches around tents to keep out rainwater, while others rely on scraps of fabric and plastic to reinforce fragile shelters.
Women and children make up a large portion of those displaced, with many spending long hours searching for water or relying on limited supplies shared among families.
“We’re living in very hard conditions,” said Mangal, another displaced resident. “There is no work, no food, and no help has reached us.”
Some families are sheltering together, with multiple households sharing a single tent or small space, while others remain fully exposed in the open.
Residents say they fled suddenly as violence intensified, leaving behind homes, belongings and livelihoods.
“We left everything behind,” said Dushi Khan. “Now we depend on others just to survive. If there was no place here, we would be sleeping outside.”
Despite the growing number of displaced families, residents say humanitarian assistance has been limited, with most relying on local communities that are themselves struggling economically.
There are also concerns about health risks, particularly among children, due to a lack of clean water, sanitation and medical services.
UN has said that over 110,000 individuals have been displaced due to the recent clashes between the Taliban and Pakistan.
For many families, the immediate priority is survival — finding food, shelter and safety — while uncertainty about returning home continues to loom.
