In-depth daily coverage of armed conflicts, terrorism, and security developments across South and Central Asia including Afghanistan, Pakistan, India-Kashmir, and the Central Asian republics.
Thursday, March 26, 2026 (Day 26 of Operation Epic Fury) was defined by Pakistan's formal resumption of Operation Ghazab Lil Haq after its Eid al-Fitr pause concluded at midnight March 23-24, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi confirming the offensive was back on track as Kabul held a second mass funeral for 60 victims of the March 16 Omid Drug Rehabilitation Center airstrike. Updated Afghan Health Ministry figures placed the Omid strike death toll at 411 killed and 263 wounded, while Human Rights Watch declared the strike "unlawful and a possible war crime," finding no evidence the facility was used for military purposes. Pakistani artillery fired 85 shells across five districts of Kunar Province on March 26, killing 2 civilians and wounding 8. The Torkham border crossing reopened partially for deportations only, with over 9,000 trade containers worth $5 billion still immobilized. In India, suspected Kuki militants fired on an Army post in Bishnupur district, Manipur, triggering a major joint security operation, and the Ministry of Home Affairs ordered a pan-India CCTV audit after security agencies dismantled a Pakistan ISI-linked surveillance network in Ghaziabad. In Central Asia, Bangladesh marked its 56th Independence Day with a military parade while estimating three weeks of oil reserves; Kazakhstan activated Caspian naval forces as the Iran war entered its 27th day.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry confirmed on March 26 that the temporary Eid pause in Operation Ghazab Lil Haq had concluded. Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told reporters at his weekly briefing that the halt expired at midnight between March 23 and 24, stating the operation would continue "until the objectives are achieved, and until the Afghan Taliban regime reviews its misplaced priority of supporting terror infrastructures and terror proxies over the welfare of their own Afghan people." Andrabi described the campaign as targeting "terrorist leadership and their support and command infrastructure, logistics networks, and all facilitators and abettors." The Eid ceasefire had been brokered by Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia and ran from March 18 through the midnight expiration. Separately, the TTP (Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan) announced on March 26 it had ended its own Eid ceasefire and resumed attacks inside Pakistan, consistent with the coordinated posture between the TTP's spring offensive and the Afghan Taliban's resistance operations.
The TTP's concurrent resumption compounds Pakistan's three-front security burden. Before the Eid pause, the TTP was executing 28 to 41 attacks per week across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the former tribal belt, per Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies data. The TTP's spring offensive, codenamed Operation Khyber (Ghazwa-e-Khyber), was declared by chief Noor Wali Mehsud on March 4 with orders to target Pakistani military outposts and security personnel. The Balochistan Liberation Army's parallel campaign in Balochistan continued its 2026 arc of attacks on CPEC-linked infrastructure and security forces, adding a third insurgent front. Pakistan entered 2026 ranked first on the Global Terrorism Index, with 1,045 terrorist incidents in 2025 causing 1,139 deaths, the highest toll since 2013. The ISPR had not published fresh operational results for March 26 at the time of this report.
A second mass funeral was held on March 26 at Sarai Shamali cemetery in Kabul, where 60 coffins were lowered into a large pit opened by bulldozers. The ceremony followed a first mass funeral on March 18 for more than 50 victims of the March 16 airstrike on the Omid Drug Rehabilitation Center, a 2,000-bed complex located on the grounds of former NATO base Camp Phoenix. Afghan Health Ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman announced an updated toll of 411 killed and 263 wounded following the recovery of additional bodies and the deaths of two more patients in hospital. Zaman said 20 young men aged 18-19 could not be located at all. "No sign of them remained," he stated. Hundreds of families continued visiting Kabul's forensic department to seek information about missing relatives. Over 1,000 patients had been in the facility, many breaking the Ramadan fast in the dining hall, when the strike occurred.
Human Rights Watch published its findings on March 27, declaring the strike "unlawful and a possible war crime." HRW's analysis of satellite imagery from March 23 showed widespread structural destruction at the site. The organization found no evidence the center was being used for military purposes and no indication of secondary detonations that would suggest stored ammunition, directly contradicting Pakistan's claim that it struck an ammunition depot used by the Taliban. HRW's Patricia Gossman stated: "The available evidence indicates that the Pakistani airstrike against a well-known Kabul medical facility killing dozens of patients was unlawful." Amnesty International issued a parallel statement on March 26 calling the attack "a significant number of deaths and injuries to civilians, at least in the hundreds," raising serious concerns under international humanitarian law. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan maintained a lower verified figure of at least 143 killed and 250-plus injured, noting the count was "still under verification." The UN Secretary-General demanded an independent international investigation.
Active cross-border combat resumed along the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier from the night of March 25 through March 26, with Kunar Province absorbing the heaviest bombardment. Pakistani forces fired a total of 85 artillery shells across five districts during the 24-hour period. In Nari District, 16 rounds struck residential areas, killing 1 civilian and wounding 6. In Sarkano District, two drone strikes plus 47 long-range projectiles killed 1 civilian and wounded 2. Manura District absorbed 2 shells without reported casualties. Shultan District received 15 shells, and the provincial capital Asadabad was struck by 5 rounds, also without confirmed casualties. Afghan border forces returned fire, with Taliban officials claiming destruction of 3 Pakistani military posts and the death of 1 Pakistani soldier, a claim that could not be independently verified.
In neighboring Nuristan Province, Taliban spokesperson Fereydoun Samim reported Pakistani forces were attacking vehicles on roads entering Kamdesh and Bargi Matal districts. The Taliban reportedly dispatched two additional battalions to eastern Nuristan as reinforcement against cross-border pressure. A separate unverified report circulated on March 26 indicating Pakistan conducted a drone strike targeting the Taliban's 209 Al-Fatah Corps in Balkh Province during the previous night, representing a significant geographic expansion of the conflict if confirmed. Balkh lies in northern Afghanistan well beyond the border zone. Taliban officials acknowledged drone activity over Balkh but denied any base was struck. Diplomatic activity continued on the margins: Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim held separate phone calls with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Taliban Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund, with Akhund calling for issues to be resolved "through wisdom and rationality."
The Torkham border crossing reopened at 2 p.m. local time on March 26, but exclusively for the deportation of undocumented Afghan nationals. Only 50 individuals crossed on the first day, among those who had been stranded at a mosque in Landi Kotal since the crossing closed on February 26. Trade, general travel, and public movement remained suspended. Over 9,000 containers valued at more than $5 billion remained immobilized at Pakistani border crossings and entry points.
Suspected armed Kuki militants opened fire on an Indian Army post in Phougakchao Awang Leikai, Bishnupur district, Manipur, at approximately 11:40 PM on March 25, with the security response unfolding through March 26. The Indian Army and the 58th Battalion, CRPF returned fire in an exchange lasting approximately 30 minutes. No security force casualties were reported. A combined operation involving the Indian Army, CRPF, Manipur Police, and Indian Reserve Battalion launched from early morning on March 26 across Bishnupur and surrounding areas. Security forces dismantled six illegally constructed bunkers in Litan and Mongkat Chepu Upper village in Ukhrul district. Kuki groups separately fired toward Meitei villages Phougakchao Ikhai and Tronglaobi using bombs and what officials described as sophisticated weapons; a hut owned by a Tangkhul Naga was torched in Sinakitei village. Security forces maintained 113 checkpoints across the state and provided armed escorts along the Imphal-Jiribam National Highway.
The Manipur attack was the second incident targeting security forces in Northeast India in four days, following ULFA(I)'s March 22 assault on an Assam Police Commando camp in Tinsukia's Jagun area, the insurgent group's first such attack in a decade. In that incident, multiple RPG shells were fired, injuring four Assam Police commandos. ULFA(I) claimed the operation was retaliation for Indian Armed Forces drone and missile strikes on its camps near the Myanmar border in July 2025. The broader Manipur ethnic crisis has killed more than 260 people and displaced over 60,000 since May 2023. The NIA's March 13 arrests of one American and six Ukrainian nationals under UAPA for allegedly providing advanced military training and attack drones to Northeast insurgency groups added an external dimension to what the Indian government characterizes as an internal security matter.
India's Ministry of Home Affairs ordered a pan-India audit of CCTV installations on March 26 following the dismantlement of a Pakistan ISI-linked espionage network operating out of Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. The network had installed solar-powered CCTV cameras at sensitive locations including Delhi Cantonment, Sonipat in Haryana, and along the Delhi-Jammu railway corridor, streaming real-time footage of military troop movements and equipment to handlers in Pakistan via cellular networks and encrypted messaging applications. Twenty-two people were arrested in total, including six minors. Key operatives included Meera Thakur, who posed as an e-rickshaw driver, and alleged mastermind Naushad Ali. Pakistan-based handlers were identified as Sarfaraz (alias Sardar Jora or Zora Singh) and Shahzad (alias Bhatti). Over 450 digital files were traced to Pakistan. Intelligence Bureau officials described the operation as pre-attack reconnaissance, analogous to the surveillance conducted by David Headley before the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Separately, India-Pakistan diplomatic tensions escalated on March 26 when External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, at an all-party parliamentary meeting, referred to Pakistan as a "dalaal" (broker) and dismissed Islamabad's mediation efforts in the Iran war. Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif responded by calling Jaishankar a "hi-fi dalal," while former Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani described the exchange as reflecting a "sick mindset." The confrontation follows the pattern set since India's Operation Sindoor in May 2025 and the subsequent suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, with bilateral relations remaining at a post-Partition low.
Bangladesh celebrated its 56th Independence Day on March 26 with a major military parade at the National Parade Square in Tejgaon, Dhaka, the first such parade in 18 years. President Mohammed Shahabuddin took the salute, with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman attending. The event passed without reported security incidents, though it occurred against a continuing backdrop of communal violence against religious minorities, with over 2,500 violent incidents targeting Hindus documented since August 2024. Bangladesh imports 95% of its oil and 30% of its gas from Middle Eastern suppliers. Qatar had suspended gas deliveries. The government had shut universities and imposed fuel rationing in response to the crisis created by the Strait of Hormuz closure.
Sri Lanka was operating on an estimated 25 days of remaining fuel reserves, with prices raised 25%, a QR-based rationing system in force, a mandatory four-day public sector working week, and a private bus strike that had removed approximately 90% of buses from roads. On March 26, Iran announced it would permit passage through the Strait of Hormuz for vessels from named "friendly nations," listing India, China, Russia, Iraq, and Pakistan. Bangladesh was not specifically named. The selective passage announcement offered partial relief to Pakistan's Navy, whose Operation Muhafiz-ul-Bahr had been escorting merchant vessels since March 9. Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar cautioned the arrangement was not a "blanket guarantee." Sri Lanka's government continued managing its neutrality between the US and Iran, having interned the Iranian replenishment ship IRIS Bushehr at Trincomalee harbor.
Kazakhstan's First Deputy Minister of Defense and Chief of the General Staff, Kanysh Abubakirov, conducted a combat readiness inspection of the country's Caspian Sea naval forces on March 26, personally checking weapons systems, navigation equipment, and special forces readiness on the Oral rocket and artillery ship and the Kaisar anti-sabotage boat. Abubakirov stated the Navy plays "a key role in maintaining regional stability" and was tasked with protecting Kazakh waters from "possible underwater and surface threats." The inspection coincided with Day 27 of the US-Israel-Iran war, during which Israeli strikes had hit Iranian infrastructure in Isfahan and killed the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, bringing the conflict's effects directly to the Caspian basin, which Kazakhstan shares with Iran. President Tokayev had separately offered Turkestan city as a venue for Iran peace talks.
In Ashgabat, the EU-Turkmenistan Business Forum brought over 200 participants together on March 26 to discuss energy security cooperation and the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor, a strategic alternative to Iran-transit routes disrupted by the ongoing war. EU Ambassador Beata Peksa noted Turkmenistan is "increasingly positioning itself as an important link between Europe and Asia." An unresolved controversy remained active across Central Asia regarding Tajikistan's convoy of 110 trucks dispatched to Iran on March 18, officially carrying humanitarian aid. Multiple reports alleged the convoy may have transported weapons disguised as aid, possibly including Ababil-2 drones from an Iranian drone manufacturing facility near Dushanbe. The US reportedly warned Tajikistan through back channels about the inadmissibility of using humanitarian missions for military technology transfers.