Pakistan is bombing Afghans for its own failures

It’s a horrifying story. Pakistan’s Air Force bombed villages along the border, killing more than 28 people and injuring twice that number, according to the United Nations mission in Afghanistan. The strikes, as is usual Pakistani practice, were launched near midnight on Sunday, when women, children and, presumably, alleged terrorists were asleep in their beds. Areas hit by these strikes and ground operations included Paktia, Paktika and Kunar, for decades the stamping grounds for the hundreds of Pakistan-trained fighters who fought first the Soviets, then the Najibullah government and now, ironically, its own supposed protégés, the Taliban. It’s been a long haul. And it looks like all of this could get rapidly worse.

The Strikes

The air strikes, using American F-16s and Chinese JF-17s, were in retaliation for an attack against the paramilitary Pakistan Rangers headquarters in Karachi, using an explosive-laden vehicle, and another blast at a nearby facility. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) claimed the attack, while army officials blamed India, without pausing for breath, just hours later. An Afghan has been arrested, and ‘confessions’ from him blaming Delhi can be expected soon, without an iota of credible evidence. Meanwhile, although the army has admitted to four casualties, the total could be far higher, given that witnesses said the blast felt like an earthquake.

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JuA are Pakistanis

The JuA has certainly been responsible for some of the worst attacks in Pakistan, including one on a children's park in Lahore in 2015 that killed at least 72 people and injured hundreds more. The JuA was said to be closely aligned with Al Qaeda, with strong sympathies for the Uighur cause, among others. Its leader, Omar Khalid Khorasani, was mysteriously assassinated while travelling for talks with the Pakistanis, arranged by Kabul. His death hit the group hard, and it now has diffused leadership, with small groups operating independently. The UN sanctions committee page tellingly notes that "Most of JuA commanders and operatives hail from Mohmand Agency... (who) dispersed after Pakistan’s military operation Zarb-e-Azb." In other words, they are all Pakistanis.

That reality is why the Taliban have long begged the Pakistanis to put their own house in order before blaming – and targeting – their neighbours. Consider that the Karachi attack would not have been possible without some local support in the city, where the explosive-laden truck was probably assembled. Remember also that when Pakistan started its operations in February 2025, thousands of local residents were driven out of the Tirah Valley in the freezing cold, leading to huge protests. These and other areas along the border have been virtually destroyed by years of such operations. Hardly surprising, then, that there is likely to be little or no human intelligence from these areas. That’s no counter-terrorism. That’s cutting your own throat.

The Horror of War

Meanwhile, Dropsite News exposes the harrowing experience Afghan women and children are going through. Drones, called ‘bangana’ in Pashto — meaning ‘buzzing bees’ — fly through the night, causing severe psychological torment. Imagery shows tiny graves where children were killed and entire families wiped out. Yet Pakistan talks of ‘precise’, ‘intelligence-based’ operations.

Meanwhile, Kabul faces another serious threat: the presence of Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-KP) along the Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa borders. Kabul managed to virtually wipe out the group inside the country, but since then it seems to have dug in within Balochistan and the tribal areas, which Kabul attacked in April using its few Soviet-era helicopters and a handful of transport aircraft. That attack was, in turn, retaliation for IS-K attacking a Chinese restaurant in a usually secure and upscale area of Kabul in January, oddly enough as part of a series of such attacks on Chinese companies, particularly in the mining sector.

China has, in recent years, begun pursuing an independent policy on Afghanistan instead of relying on Pakistani channels, emerging not just as an investor but also backing Kabul in international forums. Apparently, that has upset someone.

China Steps In

China attempted a reconciliation with talks in Urumqi in April this year. China’s special envoy, Yue Xiaoyong, was even involved in the groundwork for a second meeting after Kabul appeared to have relocated some TTP elements away from the border. No quid pro quo by Pakistan in moving Islamic State – Khorasan Province (IS-K) cadres from its own territory was reported. That forward movement has effectively ended with the brutality of the present attacks. Global Times and Xinhua have extensive coverage of the ferocity of the attacks on the hapless Afghans. Beijing is unlikely to be pleased, and it is likely to push the two sides to restart talks.

The problem is this. Kabul can prevent neither Pakistan’s attacks nor JuA attacks. It simply doesn’t have the capability. Apart from that, antagonising these myriad groups linked to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), most of whom fought alongside the Taliban in the battle to capture Kabul, is a non-starter. That would create yet another enemy, even while Kabul fights deadly Pakistan-based groups.

There’s a simple solution. Beijing has to persuade Rawalpindi to bring about a verifiable end to its support for terrorists of all kinds, alongside lifting border restrictions to allow vitally needed medical aid and food into Afghanistan. Meanwhile, New Delhi might consider providing Kabul with some defence against air attacks and the persistent low-flying drones that are harassing the population. That is an entirely defensive measure and can hardly be described as threatening to Pakistan.

Alternatively, such defence systems might be supplied through a third country, perhaps Russia, which has itself suffered from IS-K attacks. Besides, such systems might provide Kabul with some negotiating space while the so-called international community wakes up to this transgression of the laws of warfare and humanity. That might take a while. Nearly everyone has a war of their own. And that is precisely what Rawalpindi is counting on.

Delhi should significantly strengthen its own intelligence network. The Pakistan Army is clearly looking for a fight.

(The writer is a former Director, National Security Council Secretariat. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.)