As an Afghan Pashai living in the USA, this recent DC incident has made me think a lot. The shooter’s name — Rahmanullah Lakanwal — is everywhere in the media, and I completely condemn what he did. I feel sorry for the victim and her family. What he did does not represent Afghans at all.

But what I don’t understand is the double standard. Many Afghans have been victims of violence here in the U.S., and their cases barely got any media attention. But now that one Afghan committed a crime, suddenly every headline is talking about it.

What shocked me even more is seeing people from our neighboring country celebrating online that “an Afghan did it.” I really don’t understand this mentality. If the Taliban are supporting TTP or causing problems in Pakistan, why do ordinary Afghan people have to suffer hate for things we didn’t do? Why are we blamed for actions of a government most Afghans don’t even support?

It feels like no matter what happens in the region politically, normal Afghans end up paying the price — whether we’re in Afghanistan, Pakistan, or even living peacefully in the United States.

I just want fairness and equal humanity for everyone. Afghans shouldn’t be treated as villains because of what a government or extremist group does.

Senior Taliban minister Khalil Haqqani was killed in an attack on Wednesday, the Taliban’s chief spokesman said, marking the highest-profile government casualty since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan three years ago. Khalil Haqqani was the acting minister for refugees and a key member of the Haqqani network.

While the Haqqanis have long been a dominant force within the Taliban, they had appeared to lose influence recently amid speculation of a rift between regime leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and Sirajuddin Haqqani, the acting interior minister and a nephew of Khalil Haqqani.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/12/11/taliban-khalil-haqqani-attack/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/afghanistan-taliban-minister-khalil-haqqani-dead-kabul-explosion-isis-clashes/

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/afghan-talibans-minister-refugees-killed-kabul-blast-his-nephew-says-2024-12-11/

Hi everyone, i am from Pakistan and I am strictly against war(pacifist) I hope even if our governments fight people would make up peace I love my my afghan brothers I am deeply sorry for afghanis who are abducted from Pakistan, our nation has failed us and failed you.

The Taliban are transferring the bodies of 50 Afghan fighters linked to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) back into Afghanistan after they were killed in clashes with the Pakistani military, sources told Afghanistan International.

The fighters died about two weeks ago during operations by Pakistan’s army in Sambaza, Balochistan, near the Afghan border. On 12 August, the Pakistani military announced it had killed 50 TTP members in the area and seized large quantities of weapons, ammunition and explosives.

Sources said Friday, that the bodies are being returned to families in several Afghan provinces. According to the sources, about 90 percent of those killed were Afghans from the Hafiz Gul Bahadur faction of the TTP, who had crossed into Pakistan to carry out attacks against Pakistani security forces.

https://www.afintl.com/en/202508226533

In our ‪reviews section, The Back Brief, Sean Naylor checked out the Afghan war documentary “Bodyguard of Lies,” which he say is a tragic tale of hubris and missed opportunities, but one that underplays key issues like the role of Pakistan and some questionable decisions made by the Bush administration after 9/11: https://thehighside.substack.com/p/the-back-brief-bodyguard-of-lies