In various media interactions and public statements, both the civilian and military leaderships of Pakistan have accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to stage terror attacks across the Durand Line, with Defense Minister Khawaja Asif hinting at the possibility of cross-border strikes to eliminate militant hideouts if the situation persists. Authorities have also pointed to the involvement of India in the “imported” militancy, indicating the growing nexus between Kabul and Delhi. This stands in stark contrast to the bonhomie expressed by Pakistan in the aftermath of the U.S. withdrawal of Afghanistan, and points to widening rifts between the neighboring nations.
Ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan have historically proven complex, with Kabul resisting Islamabad’s entry to the United Nations after its formation, setting the stage for the bad blood that followed. In response, the natural inclination of Pakistani foreign policy-making had been to assert Pakistan’s strategic depth in Afghanistan, facilitating the rise of the Taliban movement in the 1980s to counter the Soviets, in turn boosting its ties with the United States. Then pro-Soviet India did not enjoy positive ties with Afghanistan, but the situation changed after 2001, with Delhi taking careful steps to build a “healthy relationship” with Afghanistan. Since then, India has become Afghanistan’s primary regional donor—and the fifth largest worldwide—troubling Pakistan, which maintains this is aimed at its destabilization.
But while ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan have always teetered, they are currently at their lowest ebb, as Islamabad looks to oust illegal migrants and demands adherence to documented entry and exits at the border, breaking from decades of practice. The situation is worsened by Kabul’s refusal to accept the Durand Line Agreement, with multiple leaders claiming parts of Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa rightfully belong to Afghanistan.
There is no denying a need to improve bilateral ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan as part of efforts to eradicate cross-border militancy. However, barring stringent efforts to enforce border laws and tackle internal elements facilitating smuggling, Pakistan is unlikely to recover the space it has lost to India in Afghanistan.