Kabul, Afghanistan – Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai has accused the Pakistani government of deliberately seeking to destabilize Afghanistan, alleging a pattern of hostility spanning decades. His claims come amid escalating tensions following Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan late February, which Pakistan says targeted militant groups.
Karzai, who led Afghanistan from 2002 to 2014, told Sky News that Pakistan’s actions are driven by a desire to maintain a weakened Afghanistan. “The government of Pakistan has not been able to live with any Afghan government,” he said, recounting a history of strained relations with successive Afghan administrations. “They rely on creating anarchy and weakness and a downtrodden Afghanistan these years, in their interest, which is terribly wrong.”
The recent escalation began with Pakistani strikes targeting areas within Afghanistan, prompting condemnation from Afghan officials. Kabul has reported a significant number of casualties, including a claim of 400 deaths resulting from a missile strike on a hospital treating drug addicts. The United Nations estimates the conflict has already displaced over 100,000 people.
Karzai described hearing the “horrific sound” of the bombing himself, stating his home shook and the surrounding area filled with smoke and dust. He characterized the strikes as an “extremely unfortunate event” in the relationship between the two countries.
Pakistan defends its actions, asserting that the strikes “precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure” used against Pakistani civilians. Islamabad also dismissed claims of civilian casualties as attempts to deflect blame and conceal support for cross-border terrorism.
Despite repeated attempts to foster better relations – Karzai said he visited Pakistan 20 times during his presidency – he believes Islamabad consistently undermines Afghanistan’s stability. He urged Pakistani leadership to adopt a “civilised way” of interacting with Afghanistan, stating, “Please stop the approaches that did not work in the past for decades and it may not work into the future.”
The ongoing conflict raises concerns about regional stability and the potential for further escalation. The situation underscores the complex and often fraught relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan, a dynamic with significant implications for the broader region.
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