UN OCHA Report Warns of Humanitarian Crisis from Afghanistan-Pakistan Border Clashes

KABUL (Afghan Verified) -- A United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) report warns that escalating clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan along the Durand Line have displaced over 94,000 people in eastern provinces including Khost, Kunar, Nangarhar, Paktia and Paktika since mid-March, with assessments ongoing in Nuristan.

The clashes, continuing into early April, have caused several hundred civilian casualties, including children and at least one humanitarian worker. Infrastructure damage includes 25 health centers and 41 schools damaged, closed or with operations suspended, as well as 345 homes destroyed or damaged, a market in Paktika province, an oil depot in Kandahar and religious sites in Kunar and Nuristan provinces.

The report details a Pakistani airstrike on March 17 that destroyed the 'Omid' addiction treatment hospital in Kabul. In Nuristan's Bargramatal and Kamdesh districts, nearly 100,000 people have been deprived of aid since late February.

The Torkham border crossing was temporarily reopened on March 26 before closing again, with three children injured by unexploded ordnance on the same day. A temporary Eid ceasefire was observed, but clashes persisted in eastern and southeastern regions.

Humanitarian access remains restricted, worsening shortages and risks from unexploded ordnance. Needs outstrip available aid despite ongoing responses.