The rest of the world mourns with Kabul, as the most terrible and shocking terror attack took place. More than 100 people are now known to have been killed in a suicide bombing on Saturday in Kabul, becoming the third major attack in a week — two in Kabul and one in Jalalabad. The Taliban have been said to take credit for the attack.

The constant barrages of attacks on Afghanistan since last year have been the most terrible and deserve the harshest condemnation. This attack speaks dark foreboding for the rest of the year, as it was a calculated attack on the capital, indicating that the party responsible is hitting out at the establishment. It is indeed even more dangerous considering that Afghanistan’s establishment is at its weakest, with reports indicating that the almost 40% of Afghanistan is not in control of the government. Even within the government, there are several divisions, as there seems to be no one-party line, with many government figures contradicting each other.

For months, the world, and the countries involved in the war against terror, have been taking Afghanistan lightly, with the continuous breakdown and postponing of peace talks. It is time that the world takes notice of the continuous senseless tragedies in Afghanistan. Pakistan particularly has a duty to become seriously committed to peace, stability and support to the Afghan government. Pakistan should do its utmost in finding the organisers of the grotesque attacks in Afghanistan and curtailing any groups in our region with similar ideological lines or sympathies.

A fallen Afghanistan has serious consequences for Pakistan, and threatens our own stability and anti-terrorism efforts. Last time Afghanistan fell, we saw a flurry of refugees, crime and terrorism. We cannot allow this to happen again, for love of our neighbour and for our own survival.