Kabul explosions shook the Afghan capital on Tuesday as Afghanistan-Pakistan border fighting escalated, with authorities confirming ongoing clashes between Afghan and Pakistani forces. Multiple blasts and bursts of gunfire were heard across Kabul, signalling a sharp deterioration in security amid sustained cross-border hostilities.
Journalists in Kabul reported hearing successive explosions accompanied by anti-aircraft fire and heavy gunfire from different parts of the city. The Afghan Ministry of Defence confirmed that fighting with Pakistani forces was continuing along the frontier. Similar explosions and weapons fire were reported in Jalalabad, a key eastern city situated between Kabul and the Torkham border crossing.
Residents in Torkham, located approximately 50 kilometres east of Jalalabad on the main Afghanistan-Pakistan trade corridor, said clashes had persisted for several days. The latest phase of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border conflict began on Thursday after Afghan forces launched what officials described as a border offensive in response to Pakistani air strikes.
Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy government spokesperson for the Taliban administration, said three children were killed on Monday in Kunar province, describing the incident as a crime committed by the Pakistani military regime. The Afghan government stated that at least 39 civilians have been killed since Thursday. Pakistani authorities have not publicly confirmed those figures.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) expressed alarm over reports of child casualties and urged all sides to exercise maximum restraint and protect civilian lives. The agency emphasised the need to safeguard non-combatants as hostilities intensify across multiple provinces.
Islamabad said its February air strikes, which triggered the latest escalation, were aimed at militant groups operating near the border. Pakistani officials have repeatedly accused Afghanistan of failing to curb cross-border attacks by armed groups targeting Pakistani territory. The Taliban government in Kabul has rejected those accusations.
According to the Afghan Ministry of Defence, clashes were ongoing in southern Kandahar province and neighbouring Zabul province, underscoring the widening geographic scope of the confrontation. The renewed violence marks the most serious escalation since October, when more than 70 people were killed on both sides and key land border crossings were largely closed, disrupting regional trade flows and cross-border movement.
The prolonged instability along the Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier carries broader political and economic implications, including risks to transit routes, regional connectivity projects and border trade that underpin parts of South and Central Asia’s energy and logistics networks. Continued military escalation could further strain diplomatic ties between Kabul and Islamabad and complicate cross-border security and economic coordination.
