Former National Broadcaster Criticizes Taliban’s Passive Stance on Pakistani Attacks
Ismail Miakhel, former head of the National Radio and Television, sharply criticized the Taliban administration’s stance towards the recent Pakistani attacks by sharing a pointed couplet. He reposted the verse: “The slave lowered the standard of slavery; when I saw, he was a slave’s son,” subtly referring to what he called the Taliban’s “passive approach.” This reaction comes days after Sirajuddin Haqqani, acting Minister of Interior Affairs for the Taliban administration, stated at a funeral for Kabul bombing victims that they did not have “the attraction of revenge” against Pakistan. His remarks came amid ongoing Pakistani air and rocket attacks that have caused heavy civilian casualties in Afghanistan over recent months. Miakhel also shared the couplet in response to a speech by Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban leader. According to him, despite months of bombings and thousands of Afghans killed and wounded, the Taliban leader did not mention or condemn the Pakistani attacks in his recent address. Previously, many Afghan residents labeled the Taliban administration’s stance on Islamabad as “unjustifiable,” stressing that after thousands of deaths and injuries, continuing slogans of “Islamic brotherhood” with Pakistan are unacceptable. Critics argue that the Taliban administration bears responsibility for protecting citizens’ lives, and its silence or softness towards cross-border attacks calls this responsibility into question. These developments unfold while both sides had simultaneously declared a temporary ceasefire mediated by Qatar, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia; however, despite this, reports indicate hundreds of rockets were fired into eastern parts of Afghanistan on Eid day, resulting in deaths and injuries among women and children.
