Afghan Political Figures Strongly Condemn Pakistan’s Recent Airstrikes on Border Provinces
Following last night’s airstrikes by the Pakistani military on parts of Afghanistan’s border provinces of Khost, Kunar, and Paktika, which resulted in civilian casualties including women and children, several Afghan political figures have called for serious accountability from Islamabad and intervention by the international community.
Hamid Karzai, the country’s former president, described these attacks as a “violation of Afghanistan’s national sovereignty” and expressed condolences to the families of the victims. In a statement, he strongly condemned the action.
Fazl Hadi Muslimyar, former chairman of the Meshrano Jirga, also labeled the bombing of civilian homes and targeting of women and children as a “great and unforgivable crime.” He said the Pakistani military has repeatedly targeted civilian areas and individuals, and that the United Nations and the international community should hold Pakistan accountable for these “unauthorized and ruthless” attacks. According to him, such attacks have not gone unanswered in the past and will not go unanswered in the future.
Habib-ur-Rahman Hakimyar, son of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of the Hezb-e-Islami party, expressed sympathy with the families of the victims and attributed the root of the current crises to the absence of an inclusive and widely accepted government. He claimed that the United States provides millions of dollars weekly to the Taliban administration while simultaneously allowing Pakistan to use Afghanistan’s airspace to carry out these attacks.
Abdul Karim Khurram, former head of Hamid Karzai’s office, also stated that Pakistan has once again bombed Afghanistan, killing women and children. He called the killing of people, especially civilians, a hateful act and claimed that if Pakistani armed opposition groups were able to conduct operations within Punjab, this conflict would have ended sooner.
These figures warned that the continuation of such attacks will not solve Pakistan’s security issues but will instead push the relations between the two neighboring countries into a more critical phase. Meanwhile, critics emphasize that the weakness of Afghanistan’s political structure and the absence of a responsive government domestically have created conditions conducive to the persistence of such tensions.
