The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said it was concerned about multiple arrests and detentions of women in Herat for alleged non-compliance with dress requirements. The mission did not specify the number of people affected, although local media reports said at least 21 women and girls had been detained.

In a statement posted on X late Sunday, UNAMA reminded Afghanistan’s de facto authorities that all people are entitled to freedom of movement and equal treatment under the law, regardless of gender.

The reported detentions followed a Taliban directive issued last week requiring women appearing in public to wear what authorities described as a “proper hijab,” according to local media. Reports said women who showed their faces or wore makeup could face punitive measures. Reuters could not independently verify the directive.

The Taliban administration did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the reported arrests.

Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban has imposed extensive restrictions on women and girls, limiting access to secondary and higher education, employment opportunities and organized sports. The policies have drawn criticism from the United Nations, Western governments and international rights organizations.

Taliban officials maintain that women’s rights are protected under their interpretation of Islamic law.

The issue has also raised concerns about Afghanistan’s long-term social and economic development. A UNICEF report published in April warned that continued restrictions on girls’ education and women’s employment could leave the country short of more than 25,000 female teachers and healthcare workers by 2030.

KInternational agencies have repeatedly argued that women’s participation in education, healthcare and the workforce is critical to addressing Afghanistan’s humanitarian and development challenges.

The Afghan Taliban government said the strike, which hit a facility in the capital late on Monday as patients and staff were praying ahead of the end of Ramadan, also wounded at least 265 people.

The casualty figures have not been independently verified.The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) told Reuters that 143 people were killed and 119 wounded, offering a significantly lower toll than Afghan authorities.

Relatives gathered at the site on Wednesday, combing through lists and debris in search of loved ones who had been undergoing treatment at the centre.

“We came here looking for our patient, he is missing,” said Mazar, 50, who gave only one name.

“We checked the lists, but his name was not in the list of the living. Maybe he is injured or has been killed.”Afghanistan’s interior ministry said funerals for some of those killed would take place later in the day.

Afghan authorities said the strike hit a well-known civilian rehabilitation centre, formerly a NATO military base known as Camp Phoenix that had been converted into a treatment facility about a decade ago.

Pakistan rejected those claims, stating that its forces had “precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure,” disputing assertions that civilians were the primary victims.

Independent experts said verifying the exact nature of the target would be difficult without a third-party investigation, given sharply conflicting accounts from both sides.

The strike marks a sharp deterioration in relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, already strained by cross-border security concerns. The incident comes amid broader regional instability linked to the ongoing U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, further complicating the security landscape.

A Pakistani security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Pakistan conducted the strikes overnight but said the targets were fighters belonging to the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a militant group Islamabad accuses of carrying out attacks inside Pakistan.

Khalil Zadran, spokesman for Kabul police, said the bombardment struck homes in the Afghan capital, leaving four people dead and 15 injured. Women and children were among the victims, he said.

The strikes occurred as hostilities between Afghanistan and Pakistan have intensified along their shared frontier, with both sides accusing each other of escalating violence.

Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistani strikes also targeted the southern province of Kandahar Province and the eastern provinces of Paktia Province and Paktika Province, all of which lie near the border with Pakistan.

In Kandahar, air strikes hit a fuel depot used by Kam Air near the city’s airport. The company supplies fuel to civilian airlines as well as aircraft operated by the United Nations, according to Afghan officials.

Pakistan has said its operations target militant groups and insists that its military has not killed civilians during the campaign. Casualty figures reported by both sides have been difficult to verify independently.

Tensions between the two neighbours have escalated sharply since late February.According to Afghan authorities, the latest clashes follow an offensive launched by Afghanistan on Feb.

26 along the border in response to earlier Pakistani air strikes targeting the TTP.Pakistan subsequently declared what it described as “open war” against Taliban authorities and carried out strikes in Kabul on Feb. 27.

Cross-border fighting has since intensified, including artillery and mortar exchanges in eastern Afghanistan. Afghan officials said four members of the same family, including two children, were killed in recent shelling in Khost Province.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said that Pakistani military operations between Feb. 26 and March 5 had killed 56 civilians in Afghanistan, including 24 children.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said the violence has forced about 115,000 people to leave their homes.Clashes between Afghan and Pakistani forces have also disrupted trade and forced residents near the frontier to flee their communities in recent weeks.