Tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan are running high at the moment, after Afghan Taliban forces targeted areas within Pakistan in December 2024 – soon after Pakistani aircraft carried out airstrikes in Afghanistan. The discord is not new as every Afghan government has, to varying degrees, had disagreements with Islamabad. The surprising thing is that the Afghan Taliban, too, has turned on its benefactor Pakistan by way of asserting its sovereignty. The situation is unlikely to resolve itself any time soon; border tensions and Kabul’s support for the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) will remain contentious issues over the medium term. Pakistan is targeting the TTP in Afghanistan and accusing Kabul of giving it shelter and support, because Islamabad itself is unwilling to negotiate with the TTP. For India, Pakistan’s focus on its western border is useful as it diverts Islamabad’s political and military machine from a single-minded India fixation. Pakistan has, however, learnt to balance this two-front situation. India must leverage its historical and contemporary connections with Afghanistan to keep Islamabad embroiled in the west. This will entail a two-fold strategy of covertly playing up the Pashtun ethnic angle in Pakistan and overtly encouraging further discord over the Durand Line.
