The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) Human Rights Service has documented civilian casualties inflicted by Pakistan along the so-called Durand Line and has released figures on Afghan casualties caused by air and missile strikes during the last three months of 2025.
According to UNAMA’s report, based on verified field information, Pakistan caused casualties to 547 Afghans in October, November, and December of last year. The majority of these casualties—503 people—occurred between October 10 and 17, during the peak of violence.
The report adds that, overall, Pakistan caused a total of 613 Afghan casualties last year. By comparison, the number of casualties over the past five years is nearly 1,600, with last year reaching a record level.
One section of the UNAMA report states:
“During the last three months of 2025, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan documented the killing of 70 civilians and the injury of 477 others by Pakistani military forces in Afghanistan.”
The report says that Pakistani forces bombed or shelled civilian homes and properties in several provinces, including Kabul, Paktia, Kunar, Helmand, Khost, Paktika, and Kandahar. In addition to deaths and injuries, these attacks caused permanent disabilities to some victims, destroyed homes, led to psychological trauma, and forced people to flee their residences.
According to the report, Pakistan violated the ceasefire three times even after it was declared on October 15, targeting civilians in Khost, Paktika, and Kandahar.
UNAMA further noted:
“On the evening of October 15, the current Afghan authorities and the government of Pakistan announced a ceasefire. … However, UNAMA documented civilian casualties from gunfire and airstrikes along the line even after the ceasefire announcement.”
The Islamic Emirate confirmed this part of UNAMA’s report on civilian casualties, stating that Pakistan targeted civilian areas during clashes and injured or killed many people, including women and children.
Deputy spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate, Hamdullah Fitrat, said:
“This part of the report on civilian casualties closely reflects existing realities, and regretfully we acknowledge that dozens of innocent civilians—mostly women and children—were targeted by the Pakistani military.”
Analysts say Pakistan’s targeting of Afghan civilians during clashes violates international human rights principles and are calling on international institutions to hold those responsible accountable.
Political analyst Torialai Zazai said:
“If the United Nations and UNAMA want to prevent such war crimes, they should take Pakistan to international courts and question it over the human rights violations committed over the past decades.”
UNAMA emphasized that under international humanitarian law, parties to a conflict are obligated to distinguish between combatants and civilians, and that all attacks which fail to protect civilians and civilian areas are prohibited.
