Pashtun Leader Manzoor Pashteen Condemns Pakistan Airstrikes on Khost
Manzoor Pashteen, the leader of the Pashtun Protection Movement, has strongly condemned Pakistani military airstrikes on Afghanistan’s Khost province, calling the action “inhuman, un-Islamic,” and a violation of international norms. He stated that innocent women and children were killed in the bombings.
Writing on the social media platform X, Pashteen said that killing civilians—especially women and children—and the harassment of Afghan refugees in Pakistan is neither a fight against terrorism nor morally justified. Rather, he asserted, it is a clear example of state terrorism.
Pashteen further emphasized that Pakistan’s justification of fighting terrorism is merely a cover for targeting the Pashtun community. He reiterated that Pakistan’s main targets are not extremist groups, but Pashtun homes, women, and children—a policy he claims has been pursued for years.
He also alleged that Pakistan, with the tacit approval of certain Western powers, is deliberately creating tension and instability in the region in order to disrupt commercial projects like the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). According to Pashteen, Pakistan seeks to gain economic concessions from the West while simultaneously forcing China to invest more in securing its projects due to the instability.
Pashteen accused the Pakistani army—particularly Punjabi generals—of using ethnic and media tools to prevent Pashtun unity. He claimed that these generals have deliberately sown distrust among people by buying off local leaders, politicians, and journalists.
He warned that, contrary to what Pakistani rulers may believe, this strategy will not end well for them. Pashteen said that while Punjabi generals dream of prosperity in cities like Lahore and Islamabad, their policies have brought nothing but destruction, bloodshed, and displacement for Pashtuns—from Waziristan and Swat to Quetta and Peshawar, and from Kabul to Khost and Nangarhar.
Pashteen’s harsh remarks come in response to large-scale Pakistani airstrikes reportedly targeting border regions in Afghanistan’s Khost, Paktika, and Kunar provinces. These actions have once again raised serious questions about Pakistan’s destabilizing role in the region and the Taliban-led government’s inability to defend Afghanistan’s sovereignty.
