Kabul residents voice resilience, unease after Pakistani strikes on Taliban targets

Pakistani airstrikes on Taliban facilities in Afghanistan on Friday left Kabul residents describing a mix of resilience and unease, as daily life resumed in parts of the capital city.

Early Friday, Pakistani forces targeted Taliban facilities across Afghanistan, destroying an ammunition depot, three battalions, and a sector headquarters in multiple provinces.

Pakistan conducted the airstrikes as part of the Operation Ghazab Lil Haq (The Wrath of Justice) which was launched after the Afghan Taliban started attacks on Pakistani posts.

Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the strikes on X, saying Pakistani forces had hit targets in Kabul, southern Kandahar, and eastern Paktia province.

In less than 24 hours after the strikes, life in Shahr-e-Naw, Kabul's bustling commercial heart, showed signs of resilience, with shopkeepers reopening and residents resuming daily routines despite a lingering sense of unease.

"Overall, the morale of Kabul residents remains strong. Afghanistan has gone through many ups and downs, so this was not a major issue for us. It was something we could handle," said Mohamad Elham, a local resident.

But for some others, the explosion shattered a hard-won sense of calm.

"We were at home when we heard a loud explosion. My family was terrified. It's deeply disturbing that Afghanistan continues to experience such incidents just after periods of calm," said Sher Shah, another resident.

"Afghanistan was bombarded. Praise be to Allah, it is peaceful now. I came out to spend some time with my friend and walk around Shahr-e-Naw," said Gul Rahman, a local resident.

Some residents voiced a deep desire for peace, but also made clear they would not back down if pushed further.

"It is 100 percent certain that Afghans do not want to create instability in other countries. However, if the situation worsens and our lives and security are taken from us, we will have no choice but to defend ourselves," said Mubarakullah Yeseen, a resident.

"Most of the neighbors like Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and others, they have confirmed that Afghanistan has peace. But I don't know why Pakistan has issue with us. I don't know why Arabs in Pakistan interfere in Afghanistan," said Abdul Wasay, another resident.

Kabul residents voice resilience, unease after Pakistani strikes on Taliban targets

Kabul residents voice resilience, unease after Pakistani strikes on Taliban targets

Nicaragua's co-foreign minister Valdrack Jaentschke has warned that militarism must never be allowed to rise again, as Japan's recent moves to lift its arms export ban and revise the pacifist Constitution continue to draw international concern.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Tokyo Trials, where Japan's Class-A war criminals from World War II were brought to justice.

In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Valdrack Jaentschke voiced his concern that today's world order is being undermined by interventionism and other challenges.

"It is necessary for us to remember that after the end of World War II, countries worked hard to build a new international order based on international law. However, regrettably, more than 80 years later, we are seeing that this once explored and attempted order is being challenged by interventionism, a confrontational mindset, and tendencies like 'might makes right.' These are precisely the conditions that gave rise to fascism and militarism in the past, which ultimately led to the tragedy of World War II," he said.

He said the international community has a responsibility to pursue a new international order -- one fundamentally grounded in peace.

"Looking back at the history more than eight decades ago and comparing it with today's reality, it is our responsibility to recognize that the world should, and must, build a new international order that is more just, fairer, rooted in international law, based on a logic of mutual benefit and shared success, and fundamentally grounded in peace," said the minister.

"Today, as we revisit the Tokyo Trials, it is meant to remind the world that such a tragedy must never be repeated -- and that we must do everything in our power to prevent it from happening again. We must stop that dark world -- born from militarism, interventionism, and fascism -- from ever returning," he said.

Nicaraguan FM warns of militarism revival