WHEN a household member catches a mild fever or a common cold, our instinct is modest and sensible: we reach for remedies taught by elders, rest and avoid heavy medicine unless necessity compels it.

If simple measures fail we try the medicines at hand; if the ailment still persists we consult a physician, submit to tests and, when life requires it, accept the surgeon’s knife. That sequence — care, counsel and, as a last resort, decisive intervention — is not merely a matter of health but a prudent moral order. So too should be the conduct of states in the face of threats that arise along their borders. Pakistan’s history of maintaining a neighbourly relationship with Afghanistan, marked by patience and tolerance, is long and evident. When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, our country welcomed millions of people fleeing the war. At the peak of this exodus, Pakistan and its international partners recorded around three million Afghan refugees living within its borders, sharing the burden through refugee camps and urban settlements, supported by civic compassion and international aid. This compassionate response became a defining moment in our modern history.

Charity and sacrifice neither require nor ensure limitless tolerance for actions that harm the benefactor. For decades, Pakistan has consistently called on various Afghan governments and more recently the present authorities in Kabul, to prevent their territory........

© Pakistan Observer