Afghanistan and Pakistan share one of the most complex and volatile relationships in South Asia. Bound by deep cultural, religious, and ethnic ties, yet divided by decades of political distrust and security tensions, the two neighbors remain caught between the hope for stability and the reality of persistent friction. While Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi recently described the future of India–Afghanistan relations as “very bright,” his silence regarding Pakistan reveals much about the current state of ties between Kabul and Islamabad – strained, uncertain, and burdened by mutual suspicion.

Afghanistan and Pakistan are linked by a 2,600-kilometer-long border – the Durand Line – drawn during the British colonial era. From the moment Pakistan was created in 1947, Kabul has refused to officially recognize this boundary, arguing that it divided ethnic Pashtun tribes and territories historically linked to Afghanistan. The border issue, which remains unresolved, has been a constant source of tension for over seven decades.

During the Cold War, Pakistan became a frontline ally of the United States, while Afghanistan – especially under the rule of King Zahir Shah and later the communist regime – maintained closer ties with the Soviet Union. When the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan began in 1979, Pakistan emerged as the primary supporter of the Mujahideen resistance, hosting millions of Afghan refugees and serving as a base for the CIA-backed anti-Soviet jihad. While this period strengthened people-to-people connections, it also planted the seeds of political and ideological tension that would later define Afghan-Pakistani relations.

The rise of the Taliban in the 1990s further complicated this relationship. Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was one of the key........

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