Few foreign policy challenges facing Pakistan are as persistent or consequential as its relationship with Afghanistan. Despite a shared history, geography, and deep societal linkages, the two neighbours have remained trapped in cycles of mistrust and tension. Developments across the western border routinely spill into Pakistan’s internal security and economic environment, making Afghanistan not a peripheral concern but a central factor in Pakistan’s stability.

The roots of this troubled relationship run deep. From Afghanistan’s early opposition to not only Pakistan’s emergence as a sovereign state but also to the Durand Line, mistrust has been institutionalised from the outset. Pakistan considers the border a settled international boundary, while Afghanistan continues to view it as a colonial-era imposition that divided ethnic and tribal communities. This disagreement has never been purely territorial; it carries political and emotional weight, shaping perceptions and obstructing sustained normalisation.

The Taliban’s return to power in 2021 marked a new phase in relations but failed to resolve underlying........

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