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‘Sanction Pakistan’ hashtag campaign gathers momentum as Afghans speak out
Calls to impose sanctions on Pakistan for their alleged assistance to the Taliban have been mounting in the past week and by Monday, #SanctionPakistan was trending on Twitter.
As Afghan Twitter users rallied behind the sanctions hashtag, #EndProxyWar also started to gather momentum.
This social media movement comes amid the sharp escalation in violence across the country and just days after Afghanistan’s UN ambassador, Ghulam Isaczai, pleaded with members of the UN Security Council to pressure the Taliban to engage in peace talks.
In his address to the meeting on the Afghanistan situation, Isaczai said the attacks launched around the country have been done with the “direct support of more than 10,000 foreign terrorist fighters representing 20 groups”, including Al-Qaeda and ISIS (Daesh).
He stated that the Taliban “continue to enjoy a safe haven in and supply and logistics line extended to their war machine from Pakistan.”
Isaczai also stated that reports and videos show Taliban fighters “congregating close to the Durand Line” frontier to enter Afghanistan.
He said Taliban hold fund-raising events in Pakistan that the dead are transferred over the border for mass burials and fighters wounded are treated in Pakistani hospitals.
His statement added to the growing outcry among Afghans over the ongoing violence and the suffering being inflicted on the people.
Afghanistan’s First Vice President Amrullah Saleh on Monday also used the sanction hashtag in an appeal he put out to the world via Twitter.
He tweeted: “We call on UN & other international organizations to work with us in providing any type of assistance to massive number of people who have sought refuge in Kabul due to brutality, revenge killing, loot & rape by the Talibs. Painful scenes in the streets of Kabul. #SanctionPakistan”
Chris Alexander, a Canadian diplomat and politician, and former ambassador to Kabul, appears to have been one of the first to tweet using the two hashtags.
On August 2 he said: “There will be no permanent ceasefire in Afghanistan without sanctions against Pakistan. Pakistan’s ‘forever war’ must end. #EndProxyWar #SanctionPakistan”
He also tweeted: “Pakistan’s invasion of Afghanistan constitutes an armed attack & act of aggression under Chapter VII of the UN Charter.
“Any state that fails to act to end Pakistan’s invasion & prevent further Taliban brutality are betraying the women & girls of Afghanistan & making a complete mockery of their commitment to women’s rights,” he tweeted.
On Monday he retweeted a number of #SanctionPakistan posts after tweeting Sunday “Pakistan’s invasion of Afghanistan today deserves the same response as the disastrous Soviet invasion of 1979: armed resistance, international condemnation & sweeping sanctions. #SanctionPakistan”
Fatima Murchal, President Ashraf Ghani’s deputy spokeswoman, also joined in and raised her voice. “We are burning in the flame of the war imposed on us. This unbearable pain we endure due to Int terrorism requires the world to take a stance. This silence indicates a very high tolerance for terrorism. #SanctionTaliban #SanctionPakistan #EndProxyWarInAfghanistan”
Waheed Omer, Director General, Office of Public and Strategic Affairs, meanwhile said: “Hundreds of TB (Taliban) killed and injured daily. No TB patients in our hospitals. No funerals for them in our villages. No one knows their family, relatives, village. “Bodies transferred to Pak (Pakistan) for mass funerals. Injured taken to Pak hospitals for treatment. It’s PAK. #SanctionPakistan,” he said.
One well known social media activist tweeted Monday that the hashtag campaign was quickly gathering momentum.
He said: “Thank you all for speaking up. The Afghan twitter trend is now global with more than 100k and growing with a fast pace. Afghanistan needs all these voices. Speak louder and defend Afghanistan against Pakistani invasion. #SanctionPakistan”.
The Ministry of Education reported the tragic losses, highlighting the impact of strikes on civilians and students in the region.
Education Ministry spokesman Mansoor Ahmad Hamza also said that a student at a religious seminary was injured in Barmal district of Paktika province, another area affected by the Pakistani military attacks over the weekend.
Dozens of civilians have reportedly been killed or injured in the airstrikes, which Afghan authorities say targeted residential homes and community areas in both Nangarhar and Paktika provinces.
Local sources describe scenes of devastation, with families searching through rubble and emergency personnel rushing to rescue trapped individuals.
Afghanistan’s Ministry of National Defense condemned the strikes, saying they constitute a violation of Afghan sovereignty and have caused significant civilian harm.
Officials reiterated that Afghan territory must not be used for attacks against other countries and called for restraint and dialogue to prevent further escalation.
The strikes come amid ongoing tensions along the disputed Durand Line between Afghanistan and Pakistan, where security concerns and accusations of militancy have frequently strained relations between Kabul and Islamabad. Analysts note that repeated civilian casualties risk further inflaming regional tensions and complicating diplomatic efforts to reduce violence along the frontier.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has estimated that around 20,000 to 23,000 fighters from various international terrorist groups are present in Afghanistan, contributing to ongoing security and political challenges in the country.
The ministry noted that over half of these fighters are foreign nationals.
Among the larger groups, Daesh is believed to number around 3,000, the Tehreek‑e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) 5,000–7,000, and al Qaeda 400–1,500.
Smaller groups reportedly include the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU/Turkestan Islamic Party), and Jamaat Ansarullah.
According to the ministry, Daesh remains the only group actively hostile toward the Afghan authorities, though it reportedly lacks the capacity to seize territory, focusing instead on undermining public confidence.
Afghan security efforts over the past 18 months are credited with significantly reducing attacks attributed to Daesh.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has consistently maintained that it will not allow Afghan soil to be used against any other country and continues to deny the presence of armed groups operating freely within the country.
Afghanistan’s acting representative to the United Nations has formally raised concerns at the UN Security Council following overnight airstrikes this week it says were carried out by Pakistan inside Afghan territory.
Nasir Ahmad Faiq, acting chargé d’affaires of Afghanistan’s mission to the UN, announced on Monday that a formal complaint had been submitted regarding the strikes, which reportedly resulted in civilian casualties.
In a statement posted on X, Faiq called for “the immediate cessation of such actions, a thorough and impartial review, full respect for Afghanistan’s territorial integrity, and strict adherence to the Charter of the United Nations and international law.”
According to Afghan officials, the strikes took place late Saturday night in eastern Nangarhar and south-eastern Paktika provinces.
Authorities say dozens of civilians, including women and children, were killed or wounded when residential areas were hit.
Islamabad has previously maintained that it reserves the right to act against militant groups it says operate near or along the disputed Durand Line. Afghan officials, however, have consistently rejected allegations that Afghan territory is being used to launch attacks against Pakistan.
The latest incident comes amid heightened tensions between Kabul and Islamabad over security concerns and cross-Durand Line militancy, further complicating already fragile bilateral relations.
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