The New War in Afghanistan

(Alexander Palmer – Lawfare) While the world focuses on the joint U.S.-Israel war against Iran, another conflict is escalating right next door. In the early hours of Feb. 26, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif posted online that the country was at “open war” with Afghanistan’s Taliban government. The statement accompanied a series of air strikes in Kabul and Kandahar, as well as against targets in Paktia province. In the weeks since Asif’s statement, Pakistan claims to have struck a variety of military and insurgent targets in Afghanistan, while the Taliban claim that Pakistan has struck mainly civilian infrastructure. Meanwhile, the Taliban have attacked Pakistani border posts and claimed to have conducted incursions deeper into Pakistan, although Islamabad has disputed whether this has occurred. On March 13, the United Nations estimated that more than 75 civilians have been killed, but the bombing of an apparent drug rehabilitation clinic in Kabul during the night of March 16 has probably increased that total many times over. Taliban authorities have claimed that the air strike killed more than 400 people. The Taliban have also threatened retaliation for the attack, risking further escalation in the conflict. The violence is the most serious escalation between Afghanistan and Pakistan since the Taliban took power in Kabul in August 2021. Americans who do not follow the region closely may find the violence surprising—Pakistan was the Taliban’s patron since the 1990s and provided a haven for the group in the decades after 9/11, when the United States sought to destroy it. Asif’s statement suggests a shift in how Pakistan sees the Taliban, which it has supported for decades to maintain influence in Afghanistan. – The New War in Afghanistan | Lawfare