Pakistan and Afghanistan are in the midst of their most significant conflict since 2021, when the Taliban formally took over Kabul, marked by the launch of the operation “Ghazab Lil Haq,” meaning “Fury for the Sake of Justice.”

The vulnerabilities that emerged have now escalated into open war between the two neighbors. From “Good Taliban, Bad Taliban” to “Afghan Taliban are friends,” the narrative has shifted to the reality that the TTP and Afghan Taliban are two faces of the same coin. It is now beyond doubt that Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is supported and provided safe haven by the illegitimate Taliban government. In the past, the Taliban regime was not only recognized by Pakistan but was also supported. What went wrong, and where? More importantly, when and how did India get into the equation?

May one dare speak of the role of America in creating them, fighting them, bombing them, and then empowering them once again through a calendar-based rather than conditions-based withdrawal. The U.S. left behind over $7 billion worth of military equipment, including a massive arsenal of weaponry, during its 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan. This includes an estimated 358,530 assault rifles, 64,363 machine guns, 126,295 pistols, 22,174 Humvees, and nearly 200 artillery units. The Taliban also took control of approximately 1 million pieces of equipment and ammunition, including Black Hawk helicopters.

The latest escalation is significant. Pakistan has now expanded its targeting beyond the TTP to the Taliban regime itself. Islamabad’s response included extensive airstrikes and artillery targeting major urban areas, including Kabul and Kandahar, where Taliban Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada is based. Another symbolic moment in this escalation was Pakistan’s strike on Bagram Air Base on 1st March 2026. Satellite imagery showed flattened warehouses at the base, once the nerve center of America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan and a prized........

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