GENEVA - UN experts* today urged Pakistan and Afghanistan to declare a fresh ceasefire and reach a peace agreement following the eruption of fighting in late February and the collapse of an October 2025 ceasefire.
"We urge Pakistan and the de facto Afghan authorities to commit to a permanent ceasefire, resolve the root causes of conflict, and ensure accountability for violations of international law," the experts said.
Since 26 February 2026, there have been at least 289 civilian casualties in Afghanistan, including 76 killed and 213 injured, and over 115,000 people have been displaced. Civilian infrastructure has been damaged, including medical facilities, homes, markets, and sites for displaced people. Schools and borders have been closed and trade suspended.
On 16 March, a Pakistani airstrike that hit a drug rehabilitation facility likely killed and injured hundreds. "We condemn this attack, express our deepest condolences to the families of the victims, and wish a speedy recovery to the injured," the experts said.
They also expressed concern about a number of civilian casualties from Taliban attacks in Pakistan, as well as the displacement of civilians and school closures.
The experts called on the parties to respect international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians and civilian objects. They called for prompt, independent and transparent investigations of all alleged violations, accountability for perpetrators, and remedies for victims, in line with international standards.
The latest hostilities erupted after airstrikes by Pakistan on Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) camps on 21-22 February, retaliatory attacks by Afghanistan's de facto authorities at the border on 26 February, and an offensive by Pakistan on 27 February against Kabul, Kandahar, and dozens of other locations. Pakistan's attacks have reportedly killed and injured significant numbers of Taliban and TTP personnel.
Pakistan claimed its attacks were in response to the Taliban authorities' alleged support for TTP, a group under Security Council counter-terrorism sanctions. The de facto Afghan authorities deny supporting the TTP. Attacks by the TTP in Pakistan have escalated since 2021, with hundreds of deaths in 2025 and tens of thousands displaced in the ensuing conflict.
"All authorities, including the Taliban, must diligently prevent terrorist groups like the TTP from threatening the human right to life, including outside their own borders," the experts said.
They stressed that international law requires all authorities to refrain from tolerating, acquiescing in, or supporting terrorist activities in their territories directed against other countries, which constitute prohibited interventions or use of force.
"Pakistan's attack on Afghanistan violates the prohibition on the use of force under article 2 of the United Nations Charter and customary international law. There is no right of self-defence unless the Taliban first attacked Pakistan or sent the TTP to attack it," the experts said.
"Pakistan has not published credible evidence that TTP attacks within its territory were directed or controlled by the de facto Afghan authorities," they said.
The International Court of Justice has rejected arguments that merely tolerating the presence of armed groups gives another country a right of self-defence. Pakistan has not notified the Security Council that it claims self-defence, as required by the UN Charter.
"The unlawful use of force means that Pakistan has violated the human right to life of all individuals killed in these attacks," they said. "Some attacks resulting in civilian casualties may have also violated international humanitarian law."
"While States have a duty to protect their populations from terrorist threats, they must do so in full compliance with international law," the experts said. "Cross-border infiltration by terrorist groups may be lawfully addressed through the proportionate use of force inside Pakistan, and peaceful counter-measures against the Taliban authorities."
"Under international law, the parties must seek the peaceful settlement of disputes that endanger international security," they said.
The latest violence follows Pakistani attacks on Afghanistan in October 2025 in retaliation for alleged terrorist attacks originating in Afghanistan, with subsequent heavy clashes between the two countries before a ceasefire.
The experts have been in touch with the Government of Pakistan and Afghanistan's de facto authorities on these issues.
