‘War crime’: Afghan-Pakistan truce under strain after university strike

Key Points:

• Pakistani mortar and missile strikes hit Kunar province in eastern Afghanistan, targeting Asadabad city and surrounding districts, killing at least seven and injuring over 80, including students and professors at Sayed Jamaluddin Afghani University, which suffered extensive damage.
• The Taliban condemned the attacks as war crimes, while Pakistan denied targeting the university, asserting its strikes are precise and intelligence-based, though cross-border firing between the two sides continues despite a formal ceasefire.
• Recent peace talks held in China’s Urumqi were described as "positive" but ended without agreement, with Pakistan demanding written commitments from Afghanistan to act against the Pakistan Taliban (TTP), whom Kabul denies sheltering.
• Analysts highlight deep mistrust and differing security perspectives between Pakistan and Afghanistan, complicating mediation efforts by regional actors like China, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, with repeated ceasefires quickly unraveling amid ongoing clashes.
• The core dispute centers on Afghanistan’s alleged harboring of the TTP, with Pakistan insisting on verifiable action and written guarantees to end cross-border attacks, while Afghanistan demands border openness and refugee accommodations, leaving a durable resolution elusive without mutual trust and enforceable verification mechanisms.