Kabul under the bombs: raid on a hospital and 400 deaths, Afghanistan falls back into war with Pakistan

Ambulances arriving with sirens blaring, volunteers digging through the rubble, bodies lined up outside a destroyed hospital. In Kabul, an air raid hit a drug addiction treatment center, causing hundreds of victims. An attack that marks one of the most dramatic days of recent years and that brings Afghanistan back into a spiral that seemed, at least partially, behind us.

According to local authorities, the bombs were dropped from Pakistan. Islamabad rejects accusations of targeting civilians, claiming instead that it targeted armed group bases. But the numbers remain on the ground: at least 400 dead (100 according to the BBC) and 200 injured, mostly people who were in a health facility.

The night of the bombings

In recent months, and in particular in recent weeks, Pakistani air raids on Afghan territory have intensified. The explosions hit not only Kabul, but also provinces such as Nangarhar, Paktika and Kandahar.

The Taliban government’s response came quickly: ground operations along the border, drone strikes and claims of captured military positions. Both sides talk about “retaliation”, in a game of mutual accusations that makes it difficult to establish a clear starting point.

The crux of terrorism

At the center of the conflict is above all the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an armed group responsible for numerous attacks on Pakistani territory. Islamabad accuses Kabul of offering refuge to its fighters and tolerating their activities.

The Taliban government denies this, but the links between the two movements are known: they share ideological roots, family relationships and a common history of fighting. For the Afghan Taliban, hitting the TTP hard would mean risking internal fractures in an already fragile balance.

Meanwhile the attacks continue. Among these, a suicide attack in a mosque in Pakistan which caused dozens of victims and which Islamabad attributes to the TTP, despite other claims.

A border that has never been resolved

Making the situation even more unstable is the issue of the Durand Line, the border drawn in the colonial era in 1893. A line that divides Pashtun communities and which has never been fully recognized by the Taliban.

This is not just a geographical dispute: it is an identity and political fracture that continues to fuel mistrust. Even without the TTP, many analysts believe that tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan would remain high for this reason.

Asymmetric warfare

Militarily, Pakistan has clear superiority: advanced aviation, technology and operational capabilities. Afghanistan, on the other hand, is focusing on different strategies, inherited from years of conflict: guerrilla warfare, mobility and growing use of drones.

The latter are changing the face of the conflict. Cheap and difficult to intercept, they allow targeted attacks even without a large military apparatus, making the conflict more unpredictable.

A regional domino effect

The escalation does not only concern the two countries. Wider interests intertwine in the region: the presence of groups such as Isis-K and Al-Qaeda, the United States’ concerns about terrorism, the role of China, which is increasingly active on a diplomatic and security level.

Open conflict would risk reducing pressure on these armed groups, giving them space to reorganize. At the same time, it could further destabilize an area already marked by multiple crises.

The consequences on the population

The ones who pay the highest price are, once again, civilians. In Afghanistan, where poverty and hunger are widespread, the resumption of bombing also represents the end of a fragile truce: after decades of war, many families had stopped fearing air attacks.

The economy is also feeling the strain. Trade between the two countries has been at a standstill for months, with direct effects on the availability of essential goods, including medicines.