AGAINST loud opposition at home Afghanistan’s president, Ashraf Ghani, has gambled that improving relations with Pakistan is the best way of bringing the Taliban into peace talks. On August 7th he received a sharp and bloody rebuke.

Within 24 hours insurgents killed at least 50 Afghan civilians in Kabul, the capital, and injured more than 300. It was the worst civilian toll in years. Early in the morning a bomb in a lorry killed 15 people. Then a suicide-bomber murdered 28 police cadets, and eight Afghan contractors and an American died in an attack on an American military base. On August 10th another suicide-bomber killed five people outside Kabul’s airport.

It looks as if the Taliban’s leaders are trying to prove to their foot soldiers and enemies alike that the insurgency remains strong. The movement has been in disarray since last month, when it confirmed that its founder and chief, Mullah Omar, had died in Pakistan a while ago.

Mullah Akhtar Mansour, his less-eminent successor, has his work cut out—not least because many Taliban do not recognise his authority. Without a unifying figure, the group has been left exposed to competitors looking for recruits, including Islamic State. Hardliners within the Taliban have criticised Mullah Mansour, who is regarded as a pragmatist, for letting the Pakistanis lure him into peace talks with Mr Ghani’s government. Mullah Mansour had already postponed a second round. Ramping up the violence would drive home the point that his Taliban are no puppets of the Pakistanis. War is the great unifier; peace can wait.

Ordinary Afghans are convinced that the Pakistani government and army hold great sway over the Taliban. At a vigil for the victims over the weekend, there was palpable rage against Pakistan. Before blown-out buildings at the site of the truck bomb, some activists lit a string of candles spelling “peace”. But others shouted “Death to Pakistan” and burned Pakistani rupee notes.

People in Kabul are grief-struck and furious with their own government for failing to keep its citizens safe. On August 10th Mr Ghani spoke from his palace, slamming both the Taliban and the mediators. “We hoped for peace, but war is declared against us from Pakistani territory,” he said.

The reconciliation process is not dead, however. Mullah Mansour may be hoping that a show of force will give him the upper hand in talks. Mr Ghani needs the process to bear fruit soon, to rebut the charge that he has turned to Pakistan naively. His people’s patience is running out.