Innocent civilians are being targeted, which is really concerning
In Geneva this week, a Pashtun human rights defender brought before the United Nations Human Rights Council a grave accounting of what he describes as systematic violence against civilian populations in Afghanistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — airstrikes on hospitals, enforced disappearances, and torture carried out under the cover of broad legal powers. His testimony is a reminder that border regions, so often rendered invisible by geopolitical distance, carry within them the full weight of human suffering. The question he placed before the world is one that has echoed through every era of unchecked military power: who watches, and who is held to answer?
- A Pashtun rights defender told the UN Human Rights Council that Pakistan has conducted airstrikes deliberately targeting Afghan civilians, including a hospital strike in Kabul that allegedly killed around 400 people.
- Hundreds of Pashtun and Baloch individuals have reportedly vanished into interrogation centers where torture is alleged to be routine — a pattern the defender says is not incidental but systemic.
- Pakistan's 'Action in Aid of Civil Power' ordinance is under scrutiny for granting security forces powers so sweeping they effectively suspend fundamental rights and enable impunity.
- Without UN investigation and external legal pressure, the defender warns, nothing in Pakistan's current framework will interrupt the cycle of violations along its border regions.
Fazal ur Rehman Afridi appeared before the United Nations Human Rights Council's 61st session in Geneva this week carrying a detailed record of accusations against Pakistan — allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Afghanistan that he believes the international community can no longer ignore.
At the heart of his testimony were airstrikes he says have systematically struck civilian areas rather than military targets. He cited a strike on a hospital in Kabul as the starkest example, claiming it killed approximately 400 people. This, he argued, is not collateral damage but deliberate targeting — a pattern repeated across thousands of military operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan as Pakistan's tensions with the Taliban along their shared border have grown.
Afridi also documented a surge in enforced disappearances among Pashtun and Baloch communities. While he has personally confirmed more than fifteen cases, he believes the true number runs into the hundreds. Those who disappear, he alleged, are frequently subjected to torture in detention, and some do not survive.
He pointed to the 'Action in Aid of Civil Power' ordinance as the legal mechanism enabling these abuses — a law he says grants Pakistan's military powers broad enough to override fundamental rights and shield violations from consequence.
His demand was unambiguous: the Pakistani military must be held accountable, and the United Nations must investigate and apply pressure. Without international oversight, he warned, the violations will continue. This, he made clear, is not a problem Pakistan will resolve from within.
Fazal ur Rehman Afridi sat down in Geneva this week with a catalog of accusations that he believes demands the world's attention. The Pashtun human rights defender, speaking at the United Nations Human Rights Council's 61st session, laid out a stark claim: Pakistan has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity across the border regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Afghanistan, and the international community has a responsibility to act.
At the center of his allegations are airstrikes. Afridi contends that Pakistan has launched military operations in Afghan airspace that have systematically targeted civilian areas rather than military positions. He pointed to a specific strike on a hospital in Kabul that he says killed approximately 400 people and wounded many others. Such an attack, he argued, constitutes a clear violation of international law—the kind of violation that demands accountability through the United Nations and beyond.
The scope of Pakistan's military footprint in the region, according to Afridi, extends far beyond a handful of operations. He described thousands of military campaigns across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, many of them conducted in recent years as tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban have intensified along their shared border. What troubles him most is the pattern he sees: civilians, he says, are bearing the brunt of these operations. "In most cases, innocent civilians are being targeted," he stated, his concern evident in how he framed the problem not as collateral damage but as deliberate targeting.
Beyond the airstrikes, Afridi documented what he describes as a disturbing surge in enforced disappearances within Pashtun and Baloch communities. He has personally documented more than fifteen confirmed cases, but he emphasized that the actual number runs into the hundreds. These are not isolated incidents—they represent a pattern. Those who disappear, he alleged, often end up in interrogation centers where torture is routine. Some, he suggested, do not emerge alive.
Afridi's critique extended to the legal architecture that enables these practices. He singled out the "Action in Aid of Civil Power" ordinance, arguing that it grants Pakistan's security forces—particularly the military—powers so broad that they effectively override fundamental rights. Laws like this, he contended, create the conditions under which violations can occur with impunity.
What Afridi is calling for is straightforward in its demand but complex in its execution: accountability. He wants the Pakistani military held responsible for its actions. He wants the United Nations to investigate and ensure consequences. Without external pressure and oversight, he warned, these violations will continue unchecked. The message was clear: this is not a problem Pakistan will solve on its own, and the international community cannot afford to look away.
Citas Notables
Pakistan should be held accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity. They have started airstrikes in Afghanistan and are targeting civilians instead of military installations.— Fazal ur Rehman Afridi, Pashtun human rights defender
It is important that those institutions, particularly the Pakistani army, are held accountable. Otherwise these human rights violations will continue with impunity.— Fazal ur Rehman Afridi
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
When he says Pakistan is targeting civilians instead of military installations, how does he know that distinction? What's the evidence?
He's speaking from years of documenting cases—disappearances, families reporting strikes on their villages, hospital records. It's not satellite imagery; it's ground testimony. But the pattern he's describing is that civilians are consistently the ones harmed, which suggests either recklessness or intent.
The hospital strike in Kabul—400 dead is a massive number. Why hasn't that been bigger news?
It depends on who's investigating and who's listening. A strike on a hospital in a conflict zone can get buried quickly, especially if the narrative is muddled or if international attention is elsewhere. Afridi is trying to force it back into focus.
He mentions hundreds of enforced disappearances. That's a serious allegation. What does that actually mean on the ground?
It means families don't know where their relatives are. No arrest records, no charges, no communication. People vanish into detention centers. Some reappear; some don't. It's a tool of control through fear.
Why is he bringing this to the UN now, specifically?
Because domestic channels haven't worked. Pakistan's own courts and institutions haven't held the military accountable. The UN is the venue where he can make the case that this is not an internal matter—it's a violation of international law that demands external accountability.
What does he want to happen?
Investigations, prosecutions, and reform of the laws that enable these practices. But realistically, he wants the world to stop treating this as a regional dispute and start treating it as a human rights crisis.