Painful situation

It is extremely painful news that an air strike and terrorist attack killed 50 people in Afghanistan (“Air strike, suicide bomber kill 50 civilians in Afghanistan,” Sept.20, Gulf Today).

Afghanistan is the place where war and terrorism have been going on for many decades, and have resulted in only destruction and the loss of precious human lives. At least 50 civilians were killed and 130 injured in two different incidents in eastern and southern Afghanistan on Thursday.

Afghan officials say at least 30 civilians were killed and 40 injured in an air strike conducted by the Afghan security forces, backed by US air support, in eastern Afghanistan.

The attack, on Wednesday night, was aimed at destroying a hideout used by Daesh militants, but it accidentally targeted farmers near a field, three government officials told the media.

Sohrab Qaderi, a provincial council member in eastern Nangarhar province, said a drone strike killed 30 workers in a pine nut field and at least 40 others were injured. The defence ministry in Kabul confirmed the strike, but refused to share casualty details immediately. US forces were not immediately available for a comment. Meanwhile, a powerful early morning suicide truck bomb devastated a hospital in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing as many as 20 people and wounding more than 90 others, an official said.

There should be an end to violation and war in Afghanistan. Millions of innocent people have died because of the US war against terrorism for more than 19 years. But the result is the same: the Afghanistan soil is completely unsafe, terrorists keep carrying out their cruel attacks on innocent people and killing them.  The world’s most powerful countries like the United States, Russia and China should sit together and address the painful situation in Afghanistan.

There should be a peaceful solution to the Afghanistan problem. Negotiation is the only way to move forward. Innocent people of Afghanistan who are the biggest victims of terrorism for many years are looking to the world powers to end their woes.

Asif Jahangir
By email