Afghanistan says Pakistani strikes kill seven and wound 85 in first attack since peace talks

Mortars and missiles fired from Pakistan on Monday struck a university and civilian homes in north-eastern Afghanistan , killing seven people and wounding at least 85, Afghan officials said. Pakistan denied the accusation of targeting a university. The strikes were the first violent incident since Chinese-mediated peace talks between the two sides earlier this month. Pakistan and Afghanistan had been embroiled in months of deadly fighting that has killed hundreds of people since late February, when Afghanistan launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan . Islamabad had declared it was in open war with Afghanistan . Pakistan officials dismissed Afghan media reports and official statements about the strikes on the university as “a blatant lie”. Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of harbouring militants that carry out deadly attacks inside Pakistan, especially the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP. The group is separate from, but allied with, the Afghan Taliban, which took over Afghanistan in 2021 after the chaotic withdrawal of US-led troops. Kabul denies the charge. Afghan and Pakistani officials met in Urumqi in western China in early April, and had agreed not to escalate their conflict, China’s government said after mediating the talks. Monday’s strikes marked the first major attack since the discussions, highlighting the tenuous nature of peace efforts mediated by the international community. …