Since Pakistan declared “open war” on the Taliban regime in Kabul last week, it has sent waves of jets over its disputed border with Afghanistan. It continued to do so even as Iran, which neighbors both countries, was attacked by the US and Israel and Israel and retaliated with drone and missile strikes across the region. It takes a particular kind of self-assuredness to push an already unstable situation to the brink. But, when it comes to its neighbors, Pakistan’s military has never run short of confidence.

They should know better. Two live conflicts in this same broken, mountainous arc mean risks have more than doubled. Frontiers are already porous here, crossed by smuggling routes, refugee trails, and militant hideouts. A descent into chaos will offer armed groups an inviting landscape that is controlled by nobody. As they have done so often before, threats born here will spill out onto the world. And, once again, Pakistan will be on the frontline of a global threat.

© Bloomberg