Written By: Khushal Khan
In the theater of South Asia’s geopolitics, truth is always the first casualty. What unfolded on the night of August 28–29 was not just a series of attacks, but yet another act in the endless drama where a country tries to play the hero, concealing the humiliation of its own shadows betraying it.
On the night of August 28–29, crossfire jolted Afghanistan’s Spera District of Khost and Ghanikhel District of Nangarhar. According to locals tremors were felt even in nearby villages. In the immediate aftermath, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IAG) alleged that cross-border drone strikes were carried out by Pakistani security forces. Yet, no credible evidence was presented to support this claim. It appeared to be nothing more than a “false cry” to play the victim card; painting itself as a “peace-seeking” government under attack.
The Taliban Government further alleged that the strikes targeted civilians, including women and children. Yet, when the dust settled and the smoke cleared, the truth was starkly different. Local reports and eyewitnesses dismissed these claims as baseless. The so-called “Pakistani drone strikes” were nothing more than the smoke screen of a bloody feud, an internal brawl between the banned TTP under Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud and the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group.
Both factions, drunk on the lust for power and dollars, turned their guns, and even used drones against one another in Nangarhar, Khost, and Paktika. The battlefield became a graveyard: senior commanders like Aqi, the man responsible for weapons procurement, and Akhtar Gul alias Hussaini, fell in the chaos. More than thirty fighters were left bleeding, as the conflict spiraled like a wildfire, consuming its own masters and laying bare the paper-thin alliances that hold Afghan militancy together.
The rift in Khawariji ranks were evident from their separate and conflicting statements. The contradictions shout louder than any battlefield gunfire, exposing how deep the fractures have become. Enemy agencies have slithered into their inner circles, while Kabul itself trades intelligence about militant hideouts and movements in exchange for foreign dollars. That is why these so-called “holy warriors” have now turned into rabid hounds of hell, tearing at one another’s throats. Only days ago, even a mosque was desecrated when an informant detonated a blast inside, sending 28 Khawarij to the very hell they preach about. Dollar-slaves indeed, who no longer hesitate to slaughter their own inside sacred spaces if the price is right.
This was no one-off skirmish. It was a window into the soul of Afghan militancy: power struggles, betrayals, and double-dealings that explode without warning, like a time bomb ticking under Kabul’s own feet. But instead of facing this grim reality, the Taliban reached for the oldest trick in their worn-out playbook; point the finger at Pakistan. It was easier to cry wolf than to admit that their own backyard is on fire.
Reports confirm what Kabul will never say aloud: this was a homegrown bloodbath, an intra-militant war fueled by jealousy, espionage, and whispers of Taliban elements pocketing foreign dollars to target their rivals. Afghanistan’s soil has turned into a grotesque marketplace where terror factions barter lives for money and weapons, while ordinary Afghan women, children, and the voiceless masses; pay the price with their blood.
And as expected, the narrative engineers jumped into action. Some claimed Pakistan had targeted refugee shelters; others insisted it had struck civilians. But the evidence was as hollow as their words. The entire episode echoed the infamous Pahalgam incident, where India hurled accusations at Pakistan but, when asked for neutral investigation, they went silent like a mute child. The Afghan Taliban, however, go a step further mimicking the “Godi Media” playbook; bluffing, deflecting, and spinning stories that collapse the moment they’re touched. Like a magician pulling rabbits out of an empty hat, Kabul keeps raising illusions, hoping the world won’t notice that the hat is empty.
After the news diffused, the Deputy Governor Maulvi Azizullah Mustafa stated: “Afghanistan seeks peace and stability, and such attacks by neighbors (Pakistan) undermine regional security.” Coming from a regime that is blacklisted internationally, recognized by only one country, and banned from global forums. A government that shelters terrorists, fuels drug trafficking, and destabilizes its neighbors hardly has the credibility to lecture Pakistan on “peace and stability.” In fact, Pakistan itself was twice grey-listed by FATF because of the so-called “peace-seeking” neighbor’s sponsored militancy, paying the price in lost lives, ethnic conflicts, and internal displacements.
A United Nations report in 2024 laid things bare: the Afghan Taliban is not just turning a blind eye to the banned TTP, it is actively supporting it with money, weapons, and safe havens. The report even revealed that the family of TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud was getting 43,000 dollars a month, while new training camps were set up in Kunar, Nangarhar, Khost, and Paktika. The cost of this support has fallen on Pakistan. Just last year, Pakistan saw its worst wave of violence in almost a decade, with more than 2,500 people killed, over half of them due to TTP attacks. Yet despite this, the Afghan Taliban still tries to act like a “peace-seeking neighbor.” In reality, it’s not the victim of terrorism but the hand pulling the strings of chaos in the region.
Even Afghan politicians parrot the same hollow rhetoric. Former presidential advisor Diya ul Haq Amarkhel claimed: “It is a blatant violation of Afghanistan’s territory as Afghanistan is a sovereign country. Pakistan’s attack on Afghanistan shows that Pakistan has never tolerated any regime in Afghanistan.” The irony is glaring, this so-called “sovereign country” cannot control its own borders, harbors terrorists, yet dares to lecture Pakistan on statecraft. Perhaps before preaching sovereignty, Kabul should first prove it can govern more than a few streets in its own capital.
Afghanistan’s crying of victimhood sound more like rehearsed lines in a tired play than genuine grievances. The de facto rulers of Afghanistan – the TTP and Hafiz Gul Bahadur group – have now fallen prey to their own internal rifts, tearing each other apart in a struggle for money and power. But the fallout of this infighting doesn’t stop at Afghanistan’s borders; its shockwaves are felt across the region, especially by neighboring countries like Pakistan. To hide this embarrassing failure, the Taliban government has staged a cover-up, putting on a show of false claims and manufactured narratives, hoping the world won’t notice that the chaos is of their own making.
The world sees through the smoke and mirrors, and no one is fooled by their tricks. While Pakistan continues to bear the brunt of a neighbor’s duplicity, the question that remains is simple: how long can a government built on denial and deception keep its house from burning down? The answer is simple; when a government blames others for its failures instead of governing and taking accountability, is collapsing in slow motion. Afghanistan allowing non-state actors to thrive within is digging its own grave and according to Thomas Sowell, “it will eventually become a spectator in its own downfall”.
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