Pakistani Artillery Strikes Asadabad, Capital of Kunar Province: 1 Killed, 16 Injured

Pakistani artillery struck Asadabad, the provincial capital of Kunar province, killing at least one Afghan civilian and injuring 16 others. The shelling of Asadabad — a populated urban center — was significant as Pakistan's strikes extended beyond remote border areas to a provincial administrative capital. Afghan Taliban officials confirmed the casualties. The attack occurred simultaneously with ongoing Urumqi peace negotiations, and Afghan officials cited it as evidence that Pakistan was continuing military operations even while engaging in diplomacy. The strikes were part of Pakistan's sustained Operation Ghazab-il-Haq, which had by this point struck over 81 locations across eastern Afghanistan since late February 2026 and fired thousands of artillery shells into Kunar, Paktika, and Khost provinces. The Kunar River valley area around Asadabad has historically been a flashpoint for cross-border tensions due to its proximity to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.