WASHINGTON: Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Sunday that his successor Ashraf Ghani was a traitor because he allowed the United States to drop the largest non-nuclear bomb on Afghanistan’s soil.

He also pledged to oust US forces from Afghanistan.

In a series of interviews to US and international media outlets, Mr Karzai said that dropping the bomb was a “brutal act against innocent people” and was also a threat to Afghan sovereignty.

On Thursday, a US aircraft dropped the Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb on a complex of caves and tunnels used by of Khorasan fighters of the militant Islamic State group in Nangarhar province.

This was the first time that the device, also known as the Mother of All Bombs, was ever used in a combat. It reportedly killed almost 100 militants, including scores of TTP fighters from Pakistan based in this camp inside Afghanistan. The uproar over the bombing intensified as President Trump’s national security adviser, H. R. McMaster, arrived in Kabul on Saturday.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2017

Opinion

Editorial

First steps
29 May, 2024

First steps

IT is, without doubt, a positive development. The chief minister of KP seems to have reached an arrangement that ...
Rafah inferno
29 May, 2024

Rafah inferno

THE level of barbarity witnessed in Sunday’s Israeli air strike targeting a refugee camp in Rafah is shocking even...
On a whim
29 May, 2024

On a whim

THE sudden declaration of May 28 as a public holiday to observe Youm-i-Takbeer — the anniversary of Pakistan’s...
Afghan puzzle
Updated 28 May, 2024

Afghan puzzle

Unless these elements are neutralised, it will not be possible to have the upper hand over terrorist groups.
Attacking minorities
28 May, 2024

Attacking minorities

Mobs turn into executioners due to the authorities’ helplessness before these elements.
Persistent scourge
28 May, 2024

Persistent scourge

THE challenge of polio in Pakistan has reached a new nadir, drawing grave concerns from the Technical Advisory Group...