The latest round of armed hostilities, accompanied by toxic narratives, demands that both Afghan and Pakistani leaders step back from the brink and reassess their conduct. Shared interests - such as peaceful coexistence and mutually beneficial economic connectivity - call for logical, dispassionate recalibration rather than emotional confrontation.

While blaming or belittling the other side is easy, managing the consequences of such behaviour is far more difficult. The flood of disinformation, motivated narratives and fake news further complicates any corrective effort - underscoring the urgency for reflection.

Afghanistan's Predicament

Afghanistan and its people deserve sympathy and empathy for their suffering of more than four decades, a direct outcome of relentless geopolitical wars. Ever since the Soviet invasion, followed by the US-led "bleed the bear" campaign, the country has endured displacement, destruction and despair. The intra-Mujahideen civil war, the rise of the Taliban in the mid-1990s, the arrival of Osama bin Laden, and the subsequent "war on terror" have all deeply scarred Afghanistan's collective psyche and traumatised millions.

The Taliban's return to power in August 2021 was yet another painful episode - especially for those who had grown up under narratives depicting the group as destructive and anti-state. Yet, some in Afghanistan seem to treat compassion from others as an entitlement. They forget that compassion belongs in families and societies; states operate on mutual interests, not cultural, ethnic or........

© The Express Tribune