Justifiable anger: wishing for Pakistani bombs

There is a troubling convergence of sentiments s among some Iranians and Afghanistanis when it comes to the overthrow of their respective regimes. In recent days, members of the Iranian diasporas have celebrated the US and Israel dropping bombs on innocent people, showing blatant indifference to civilian casualties. Similarly, in Kabul and other provinces, some Afghanistanis have wished for more Pakistani bombs on the Taliban strongholds.

Social media platforms are awash with sentimental tweets and posts celebrating the Pakistani attacks on Taliban ammunition depots in Kabul, and what Pakistan alleges are terrorist cells in the south and east of Afghanistan, close to the Pakistani border. In various WhatsApp and Facebook groups that I'm part of, hopes for more Pakistani bombs raining on Taliban bases across the country are not subdued. 

Roya, one of the users from Mazar-e Sharif whose two brothers were killed by the Taliban, wrote in Farsi:

"When I see the Pakistani war planes in the sky of Kabul, I see them as angels of freedom. I want them to soar longer in the sky, so that the wrath of their sounds destroys the hearts of the terror groups ruling our homeland."

Ahmazai, who himself is a Pashtun, wrote in Pashto:

"The Taliban killed five members of my family, including my parents and two brothers. I have nothing left in my life. I want these filthy beings to be destroyed. God destroy them. May God ask Pakistan to destroy them."

Shamali, who also lost family members to suicide by the Taliban, wrote in Farsi:

"Every time I see the Pakistani aircraft in the sky of Kabul, I just wish they would drop bombs on all Taliban bases. I wish Pakistan would punish its unruly rascals." 

Obviously, these sentiments are born out of deep grief and loss. Reading through the comments, I could not help but think and compare these comments with the Iranians who celebrated the death of Khamenaie while denying the death of 175 innocent school children killed by the US bomb on February 28th. 

Considering the context of their grief and loss, these sentiments are deeply human, but there is a dilemma, and that is a moral one, which raises an unsettling question. While the pain of these individuals who lost family members in the Taliban's atrocities is understandable, how can one wish and justify more bombs to be rained on their oppressors without considering the civilian tolls and the continuation of the cycle of violence?

Some might say that those in Afghanistan who wish for Pakistani bombs to destroy the Taliban are perhaps morally bankrupt, but this kind of categorical denial is rejecting a painful reality, and that is that they are human beings and they are responding to the tragic events both retrospectively and predictably. Their celebration and wish for more Pakistani bombs are perhaps both a cry for justice and a display of grief.