Karzai Reacts to Kallas Remarks Over Pakistan’s Attacks in Afghanistan

Remarks made by European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas in Islamabad have sparked reactions.

Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that Pakistan’s current security challenges are the result of decades-long policies supporting extremism.

He emphasized that Afghanistan and its people have been victims of terrorism originating from Pakistan and that the international community should pay attention to the root causes of the regional crisis.

Referring to Europe’s ties with Afghanistan, Karzai called on the European Union to recognize the realities on the ground.

On his X, Hamid Karzai stated: “The respected EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission should, based on objective realities and considering that Afghanistan and its people are victims of terrorism originating from Pakistan, take into account the main causes and roots of the ongoing regional crisis, which has resulted in widespread human suffering and the destruction of public infrastructure in Afghanistan.”

Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said during a joint press conference with Pakistan’s foreign minister on June 1: “Pakistan has the right to defend itself and its citizens in accordance with international law, but in this situation, dialogue—not airstrikes—is the best way to resolve the crisis and reduce tensions.”

Meanwhile, many social media users strongly reacted to Kallas’s remarks, stressing that Pakistan had targeted civilians in Afghanistan. They pointed out that UNAMA has documented the targeting and harm of more than 700 civilians in its reports.

Political analyst Gul Mohammad Din Mohammadi said: “In all Pakistani attacks on Afghanistan, civilians have been targeted—athletes, children, women, and even a rehabilitation hospital for drug addicts in Kabul.”

Previously, senior United Nations officials, including Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Richard Bennett, the UN Human Rights Council’s Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan, human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as several other groups, had called for a transparent investigation into Pakistan’s airstrikes, particularly those targeting the Omid drug treatment center.