Kashgil News
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, said on Friday that 56 Afghan civilians, including 24 children, have been killed in clashes with neighboring Pakistan since last week.
Islamabad has so far not commented on the civilian casualties and has said its troops have killed more than 430 Afghan security personnel.
Afghanistan, on the other hand, claims that about 150 Pakistani army personnel have been killed. The death tolls reported by both sides are difficult to independently verify.
Volker Turk said in a statement that the number of civilians killed in Afghanistan since the beginning of this year has reached 69, while 141 people have been injured.
The fresh clashes began when Afghanistan allegedly carried out a border operation, which it said was in response to earlier Pakistani air strikes. Islamabad said the attacks were carried out to target militants.
Volker Turk called on the Pakistani military and Afghan security forces to immediately cease fighting and prioritize helping the millions of people who rely on humanitarian aid and whose lives have long been affected by violence and deprivation.
In 2025, the United Nations blamed Pakistani forces for the deaths of 87 civilians and the injury of 518 others in Afghanistan.
“Civilians on both sides of the border are now being forced to flee to escape airstrikes, heavy artillery shelling, mortar shelling and gunfire,” Turk said.
“I appeal to all parties to end this conflict and prioritize helping those who are facing grave hardship,” he added.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says that about 66,000 Afghans have been displaced by the border clashes.
The recent clashes have also halted humanitarian aid for Afghans returning from Pakistan and suspended emergency food aid.
The World Food Programme says the halt in aid has affected some 160,000 people, while Afghanistan is already facing a serious hunger crisis.
“The violence is preventing humanitarian aid from reaching many people who need it most,” said Volker Turk. “This is compounding the already dire situation.”
The United Nations estimates that some 22 million people, about half of Afghanistan’s population, are in need of humanitarian assistance, including more than 11.6 million children.
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