Blogger Najm Al-Deen dissects the armed conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan and urges the Muslim nations to reconcile their differences in the name of Islamic unity.
The recent U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran which triggered a leadership crisis in Tehran coincide with a sharp escalation between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Following deadly cross-border exchanges, Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif declared the situation an “open war”. This surge in violence stems from years of friction over the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the militant coalition at the heart of the regional flashpoint.
Operating in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-specifically the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)-the TTP is an umbrella organisation of factions seeking to overthrow Pakistan’s leadership and military to restore Islamic law and order.
Islamabad claims the TTP uses Afghanistan as a sanctuary, supported by the Afghan Taliban to coordinate deadly sectarian strikes, such as the recent suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in Islamabad. Conversely, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) denies these allegations, maintaining the TTP is an internal Pakistani security matter and accuse Pakistan of harbouring militants and violating Afghan sovereignty with airstrikes that have killed numerous civilians.
As localised border skirmishes escalate into direct state-on-state hostilities amidst a growing threat of regional spillover from recent US strikes on Iran, the deep-seated mutual distrust between Pakistan and Afghanistan must be viewed within its wider context.
War on Terror
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The IEA’s suspicions of Pakistan date back to the War on Terror, when Islamabad served as the logistical lifeline for NATO operations.
Beyond abandoning its official support for the Taliban, Pakistan facilitated US military efforts to dismantle the regime by providing blanket over-flight access, landing rights and critical intelligence.
Crucially, Pakistan’s recent aggression occurs as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif joins President Trump’s newly established Board of Peace, signaling a thaw in US-Pakistan relations. Washington has publicly endorsed Pakistan’s right to defend itself against the TTP and by degrading these groups, Islamabad addresses shared concerns regarding transnational terrorism under Taliban rule.
Ultimately, a Pakistan that is focused on its western border remains dependent on US strategic support, while Trump’s recent praise for Sharif provides the diplomatic cover necessary for Islamabad to pursue aggressive military operations in Afghanistan.
Durand Line
Furthermore, Pakistan’s approach to the Durand Line has historically angered Afghanistan which views the formal boundary as an artificial colonial imposition that divides the Pashtun and Baloch ethnic groups, severing kinship ties, migration paths and trade routes for millions.
Additionally, Pakistan has used the line to build security posts and fences several kilometres inside Afghan territory, a move Kabul decries as strategic aggression and a violation of its sovereignty.
India-Afghanistan
Regarding Pakistan’s suspicions toward Afghanistan, much revolves around the IEA’s high-level diplomatic engagements with India, which Pakistani officials perceive as a national security threat.
Not only have both nations upgraded their diplomatic missions, but recent pledges for economic cooperation by specifically boosting trade via Iran’s Chabahar Port have been criticised by Islamabad, as a move to bypass the Karachi and Gwadar ports, effectively isolating it from Central Asian markets.
Another sign of this regional shift occurred when the IEA implicitly endorsed India’s claim to Kashmir. By issuing a joint statement referring to a terrorist attack site as “Jammu and Kashmir, India,” Kabul marked a major policy departure. This cordiality, coupled with the surge in domestic terrorism has reinforced Pakistani perceptions that Afghanistan is serving as an Indian proxy to export instability.
It is suspicious that this escalation follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s high-profile visit to Israel where he and Benjamin Netanyahu reached landmark agreements to elevate bilateral ties through economic integration, technology transfers, and people-to-people exchange.
In fact, open conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan strategically benefits both India and Israel, reinforcing their shared counter-terrorism narratives while forcing Pakistan to confront a multi-front security challenge.
Hindutva
From India’s perspective, Pakistan’s security threats on both its eastern (India) and western (Afghanistan) borders may force Islamabad to divert military resources away from the Line of Control (LoC) toward the Afghan frontier, effectively collapsing the strategic depth Pakistan sought for decades by maintaining a pro-Islamabad regime in Kabul to avoid a two-front threat.
Such developments align with the Hindutva-led government’s goal of isolating Pakistan both regionally and internationally. Furthermore, Hindutva extremists frequently frame these tensions as progress toward “Akhand Bharat” (Undivided India), a concept that encompasses modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan based on ancient cultural links, such as the Indus Valley Civilisation.
Furthermore, exploiting Pakistan’s internal instability and fueling animosity between neighbouring Muslim-majority states helps vindicate the BJP’s hardline security stance toward Pakistan and Muslim minorities, lending greater credibility to its domestic messaging.
Zionism
Current tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan also strategically benefit Zionist interests and the Greater Israel agenda, by diverting the resources of two major Muslim powers, effectively neutralising regional opposition to Israeli expansionism.
For years, Zionists have sounded the alarm regarding Pakistan, the Muslim world’s only nuclear-armed nation and a staunch supporter of Palestine. Despite the fact that Zionist aggression faces its strongest ideological opposition from Pakistanis and Afghans, these skirmishes undermine the collective diplomatic efforts of fraternal Muslim nations, forcing both states to pivot their strategic focus away from the Middle East, ultimately limiting their future ability to project influence in support of the Palestinian cause.
Additionally, if instability in the Pakistan-Afghanistan region isn’t reined in, it will reinforce the need for bypass trade routes like the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) which positions Israel as a critical logistical hub between Asia and Europe.
Nationalism
Once again, the Muslim world is fractured by historical borders, ethnic identities, and tribal structures. These powerful centrifugal forces often take precedence over a shared Islamic identity.
The Durand Line remains a flashpoint, pitting Pakistani nationalists defending territorial integrity against Afghan-Pashtun nationalists seeking ethnic unification. Consequently, both nations accuse the other of using tribal proxies or nationalist movements to destabilise their neighbour.
Furthermore, Israel’s aggression will likely extend beyond Iran, as Zionist hardliners have already signaled that Turkey and Pakistan are in their crosshairs. This reality should convince leadership in Islamabad that unifying with Afghanistan on an Islamic basis is not merely a religious ideal, but a practical necessity for survival.
In this blessed month of Ramadan-as Iran faces bombardment from the US and Israel – it is painful to see two strategically vital Muslim nations mired in narrow nationalism (al-wataniyyah) and tribalism (al-asabiyyah). These colonial legacies persist when both should embody the Islamic standard of a global ummah transcending race and geography.
The ulema and students of knowledge in both nations must persuade their governments to restore their shared Islamic values as a framework for cooperation, ensuring ethnic identities remain a source of cultural richness rather than a catalyst for conflict.
With Israel on a rampage and Zionists intent on weakening Islamic resistance, Kabul and Islamabad must prioritise their shared Islamic heritage over colonial-era grievances. This is both a religious obligation and a vital survival strategy against the existential threat posed by Israel.
Unity
The case for strategic alignment between Afghanistan and Pakistan has never been stronger.
Beyond a shared 2,600km border and overlapping ethnic demographics, they possess a deep-rooted Islamic identity and their integration could theoretically transform the landscape of the region.
Aside from cultural and religious synergy, both nations sit at the crossroads of the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia and serve as gatekeepers for land-based trade and energy pipelines moving from the resource-rich Caspian region to the energy-hungry Indian Ocean.
Furthermore, their combined population exceeds 280 million-the vast majority being young-providing a massive labor force and consumer market. Additionally, a mutual defence pact could create one of the world’s most formidable land-force blocs, pairing Pakistan’s nuclear capabilities with Afghanistan’s decades of experience in asymmetric warfare.
By unifying economic policies and forming a mini-Schengen common market based on a shared Islamic framework, these nations could potentially shift the Muslim world’s centre of gravity toward Asia.
May Allah unite the hearts of the Muslims of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
