Afghanistan Situation Update #2: Humanitarian Impact of Afghanistan-Pakistan Military Escalation (18 March 2026)

HIGHLIGHTS

• The conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan is now in its third week with no signs of abating. Between 26 February and 17 March, 289 civilian casualties (76 killed, 213 injured) have been recorded in Afghanistan, including 59 women and 104 children, who together account for more than half of all victims.
• Hostilities have intensified and expanded geographically in that time. Pakistan has conducted airstrikes, artillery, mortar and drone attacks across at least ten Afghan provinces, while de facto authority (DfA) forces have launched ground assaults on border points and carried out drone strikes inside Pakistan, including on Pakistani military positions in Kohat and Rawalpindi.
• Strikes have increasingly affected major urban areas. On 14 March, Pakistan conducted airstrikes in Kabul, killing four civilians and injuring 14, following Pakistani statements that a ‘red line’ had been crossed after reported DfA attacks targeting Pakistan’s military installations. On 16 March, additional airstrikes struck multiple locations across Afghanistan, including a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul – the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital - with casualty figures still under verification.
• Displacement continues. Initial reports indicated that approximately 115,000 people (around 16,400 families) had been displaced by the conflict. As of 17 March, assessments across 75 villages and settlements have verified 40,000 displaced people (over 5,600 families), with more than 318 shelters destroyed or severely damaged. Priority needs include shelter, water, health services and food assistance.
• Protection concerns have arisen in displacement sites. Authorities have ordered internally displaced people (IDPs) in seven displacement sites to return to their areas of origin in Chawkay and Nurgal districts in Kunar Province, with two sites already fully vacated.
• Civilian infrastructure damage is affecting services and communications. Since the last situation update, a telecommunications tower in Paktia Province has been destroyed, disrupting communications for residents and humanitarian partners, and a Kam air fuel depot in Kandahar has also been damaged. On 8 March, a fire at the Afghan border crossing in Torkham destroyed approximately 150 shops. Regional tensions and border closures are disrupting markets and humanitarian supply chains. Border crossings with Pakistan remain closed since October 2025 with the exception of Spin Boldak and Bahramcha which are only open for returnees. Torkham and Spin Boldak crossings have sustained substantial damage with humanitarian partners suspending operations since early March.
• Prices for key staples, including imported rice and vegetable oil, have increased by 20–40 per cent since December 2025. Humanitarian cargo remains stranded in Pakistani ports while accruing demurrage fees. Escalating conflict in Iran and the wider region has increased uncertainty for humanitarian logistics, effectively pausing the Iran transit route that partners had explored as an alternative supply corridor.