Pakistan Launches Airstrikes deep into Afghanistan, Targeting Kabul and Border Regions
Pakistani aircraft launched a series of airstrikes on Afghanistan early this morning, hitting areas in Kabul and the eastern provinces of Paktika and Khost. Afghan government sources confirmed the strikes, stating targets included civilian areas. This action follows recent demands from Islamabad for the Afghan government to crack down on alleged militant groups operating from its territory.
Deutsche Welle, among others, frames these actions as Pakistan 'bombing Kabul and Afghan border provinces' in response to alleged terrorist threats, implying a justifiable retaliation. This framing omits the long history of Pakistan's strategic depth doctrine in Afghanistan, where various factions have been covertly supported or opposed depending on Islamabad's geopolitical calculations. The
constant narrative of 'terrorist safe havens' often serves as a pretext for interventions that destabilize regional power dynamics, a pattern seen throughout the Cold War and post-9/11 eras, where 'counter-terrorism' became a universal justification for state violence. What remains unsaid is the deep historical connection to events like Operation Cyclone, where the US channeled billions through
Pakistan to arm Mujahideen groups against the Soviets in the 1980s. This created a profound power vacuum and extremist ecosystem that both Pakistan and the West continue to grapple with. Pakistan received over $40 billion in US aid between 2002 and 2017, much of it military, creating a dependency that enables such cross-border incursions while simultaneously preventing genuine regional stability.