On cold Friday night in Gurbuz District of Khost province, eight-year-old Ahmad sits quietly inside a dark cave, holding his younger sister close. Just days ago, they were in their home. Now, the cave is their only shelter.
“We had a house, a life,” says Bibi Gul, a mother of four. “Now my children sleep on stones. When it rains, everything gets wet. We have nowhere to go.”
Along the Durand Line in Khost Province, families from villages in Gurbuz district say cross-border shelling has forced them to flee their homes. Residents report that civilian houses have been hit, leaving entire communities displaced.
“We ran in the middle of the night,” says Malik Rahman, a local elder. “There was heavy shelling. We could not stay. We just took our children and escaped to the mountains.”
Now, dozens of families are living in caves or under makeshift tents, facing harsh conditions with little access to food, clean water, or medical care.
“My youngest child cries from the cold,” says Zarmina Bibi, another displaced mother. “He asks me when we will go home. I have no answer for him.”
Community members warn that the situation is worsening rapidly. “Children are the most affected,” says Haji Karim, a resident. “They are hungry, scared, and exposed to the cold. If this continues, it will become a bigger tragedy.”
Despite the growing crisis, families say little assistance has reached them. For now, the mountains offer refuge—but not safety, and not hope.
The Taliban deputy spokesperson, Hamdullah Fitrat, says Pakistani forces carried out mortar, missile, and drone strikes across Kunar, Paktia, and Khost provinces along the Durand Line early Thursday, killing two civilians and injuring 25 others, many of them children.
Talks in china
Diplomatic efforts to end months of intense border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan resumed this week in Urumqi, China, where senior officials from both sides met at Beijing’s invitation to seek a negotiated resolution. The discussions, described by Islamabad as working-level talks, aim to secure a ceasefire and reduce cross-border violence that has claimed lives and disrupted trade and travel since last October.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of providing safe haven to militants carrying out attacks within its borders, particularly fighters linked to the Tehreek‑e‑Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Kabul strongly denies these claims, calling militancy a domestic issue for Pakistan to resolve.
Beijing, which shares borders with both countries, has taken on the role of mediator, hosting the talks and sending envoys in March to prepare the groundwork. Chinese officials say consultations are advancing steadily, with both sides expressing willingness to continue dialogue, even as sporadic violence continues along the frontier.
Although no formal ceasefire or detailed agreements have yet been announced, diplomats say China’s involvement reflects a broader regional push to stabilize South Asia, amid concerns that the conflict could escalate further.
Afghanistan says children among those killed in latest attacks by Pakistan
According to Taliban authorities, a Pakistani airstrike on a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul killed at least 408 people and injured another 265.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said at least 143 people were killed and 119 injured in the same strike while investigations continue.
Taliban officials say most of the victims of recent attacks in various provinces, including Kabul, were civilians—many of them women and children—with hundreds more injured.
