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Today's Paper | April 28, 2026

Published 28 Apr, 2026 06:54am

Afghan shells fall in Bajaur as Islamabad denies ‘attack on varsity’

BAJAUR: Three mortar shells fired from the Afghan side landed in two border areas of Lowi Mamund tehsil in Bajaur district on Monday evening, leaving a boy injured.

Official sources and locals told Dawn that mortar shells fired from across the border hit the Lara Laghari and Bara Laghari areas, the border localities of Lowi Mamund tehsil.

They added that one of the mortar shells struck the house of Javed Khan, a peon at the Lara Laghari Government Primary School, leaving his 12-year-old son injured.

The boy was taken to a local hospital for treatment, where he was stated to be out of danger.

Residents told Dawn that the Monday evening attack caused great panic among them and led traders of the Lara Laghari bazaar to close their shops early.

According to the residents, this was the second such attack in the localities in the past six days, following an attack on the night of April 22, which hit the house of Shena Khan in the Bara Laghari area, damaging his home without causing any loss of life.

An earlier attack, which occurred on the night of April 15, left two women and a child dead, besides injuring two others, after a mortar shell hit the house of a local resident in the Bara Laghari area.

Meanwhile, besides the residents of Lowi Mamund tehsil, prominent figures of the area have also strongly condemned the fresh attacks.

A day earlier, the Pakistan Army launched a swift and decisive response, targeting and destroying several posts of the Afghan Taliban across the border, after the latter resorted to unprovoked firing and provocation in the border region of the Angoor Adda area, particularly in the village of Zalool Khel in Tehsil Birmal of Lower South Waziristan.

Govt rejects Taliban ‘propaganda’

Meanwhile, on Monday, the information ministry rubbished reports by the Afghan media alleging Pakistan carried out attacks targeting a university and residential areas in the neighbouring country’s Kunar province.

In a post on X, the ministry shared a screenshot of a social media post by Afghan news outlet Tolo News, which claimed that Pakistan had carried out attacks on the Sayed Jamaluddin Afghani University and residential areas.

The information ministry said the Afghan media’s claim was a “blatant lie and an attempt to gain sympathy to cover up support [provided] by Afghan Taliban to Fitna al Khawarij”.

“Pakistan’s targeting is precise and intelligence-based,” the information ministry said on Monday.

It added that no strike had been carried out on the Sayed Jamaluddin Afghani University, adding that the claims were “frivolous and fake”.

In another post, the ministry shared a screenshot of a post by an X account, which reiterated the claim of strikes in Kunar, labeling it “fake propaganda”.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2026

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