Pakistani artillery fire on parts of Asadabad, the center of Kunar province in the east on Sunday, killed one civilian and wounded 17 others, a Taliban spokesman said, in the latest escalation of cross-border violence.
Hamdullah Fitrat, the Taliban deputy spokesman, said most of the wounded were women and children. “As a result of this attack, civilians suffered casualties,” he said, citing preliminary figures.
Local Taliban officials said Pakistani forces carried out the strikes using artillery, targeting areas inside the city.
The reported attack came shortly after Pakistan’s defense minister signaled that talks with the Taliban were underway through third-party mediation aimed at reducing tensions between the two sides.
Residents in eastern provinces along the border, including Paktia, Paktika and Khost, said they feared further violence. Some said shelling had forced families to leave their homes in recent days.
Local residents described growing insecurity in border areas, where clashes and intermittent shelling have disrupted daily life.
Some sources in Kandahar said that, with mediation efforts involving Qatar, Pakistan had agreed to refrain from targeting major cities such as Kabul and Kandahar, though this could not be independently verified.
The latest incident follows a relative lull in Pakistani airstrikes after a temporary Eid cease-fire. The most recent reported airstrike occurred in Balkh province, where Pakistani forces targeted a Taliban military facility.
Before the ceasefire, Pakistani strikes included a strike on a rehabilitation center in the east of Kabul that drew widespread international concern. Taliban said 400 people were killed in the attack, while independent groups have reported lower casualty figures.
Pakistan has said its operations target militant infrastructure, while Taliban have accused it of hitting civilian areas.
Despite repeated warnings from Taliban of possible retaliation, there has been no clear military response following recent strikes.
