Afghanistan

Pakistan Airstrikes Kill 13 in Afghanistan, 11 Children

Was this a legitimate act of self-defense or an indefensible war crime?

Published 1 day ago

Pakistan Airstrikes Kill 13 in Afghanistan, 11 Children

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Above: An Afghan man holding a portrait of his late brother at the Badam Bagh Hilltop in Kabul on April 1. Image credit: Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty Images

The Spin

Pro-Afghanistan narrative

Pakistan's airstrikes have killed hundreds, mostly civilians, in Afghanistan. Striking protected medical facilities without warning, then denying the act, is a textbook violation of International Humanitarian Law regardless of any self-defense justification. A country that spent two decades condemning U.S. drone strikes as illegal and sovereignty-violating has no credible ground to turn around and do the same thing to Afghanistan.

Tamim Asey on X Fordham International Law Journal

Pro-Pakistan narrative

No sovereign nation can be expected to absorb endless cross-border terrorist attacks while the neighboring regime either tolerates or actively supports the groups responsible. The Afghan Taliban has made repeated assurances about reining in the TTP, yet attacks on Pakistani civilians and security forces have continued without pause. Diplomacy without verifiable action — arrests, sanctuary closures, funding cut-offs — is just cover for inaction, and Pakistan's right to self-defense under international law is real and legitimate.

Ali K.Chishti Official on X The News