Afghanistan, India and Pakistan: A trinity of troubles

Recent attacks successful Afghanistan, India and Pakistan constituent to melodramatic changes successful determination alliances rooted some successful past assemblage hubris and present-day information concerns. As the 3 neighbours reshape the geopolitical landscape, soldiers and civilians are being killed portion the planetary assemblage grows nervous. How did it ever travel to this?

Some of it has to bash with the Durand Line of 1893, agreed to by Henry Mortimer Durand, successful British assemblage India, and Abdur Rahman Khan, the Afghan person appointed by Britain. The enactment astatine archetypal divided Afghanistan and India. But aft the partition of India successful 1947, it became the borderline betwixt Afghanistan and Pakistan, a frontier nary Afghan authorities has ever recognised.

Afghanistan rejects the Durand Line, seeing it arsenic a borderline imposed by the British that divides its Pashtun people. As a result, Afghanistan was the lone state to ballot against Pakistan’s admittance to the UN.

Despite the snub, Pakistan backed the mujahideen against the Soviets successful the 1980s and was the Afghan Taliban’s main patron until the Taliban resumed powerfulness successful 2021. Today, Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of sheltering the Pakistan Taliban (TTP), which has waged a convulsive run against Islamabad since 2007. Afghanistan denies the charge.

Enter India, which Pakistan says backs the Afghan Taliban and, by extension, the TTP, a complaint India rejects. In October 2025, portion warring flared connected the Afghan-Pakistan border, Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi visited India, to tighten ties. Pakistan did not neglect to notice.

These are hard times. In April 2025, gunmen killed 26 radical successful Pahalgam successful Indian-administered Kashmir. India blamed Pakistan, which denied involvement. In May, the 2 exchanged rocket and drone attacks for 4 days earlier declaring a ceasefire.

On October 10, warring crossed the Afghan-Pakistan borderline broke retired earlier a 48-hour truce took clasp connected October 15. Three days later, Pakistani jets bombed Afghanistan. On November 8, talks betwixt Pakistan and Afghanistan collapsed successful Turkiye, with the TTP contented unresolved.

Two days later, a car exploded successful New Delhi, sidesplitting astatine slightest 13 people. India called it a “terror incident” but refrained from blaming Pakistan, which it often does. Less than 24 hours later, a termination bomber successful Islamabad killed 12 people. Pakistan blamed the TTP. India and Afghanistan denied immoderate role.

As things present stand, Pakistan feels threatened, geographically and politically sandwiched arsenic it is betwixt Afghanistan and India. India and Pakistan some person atomic weapons. Afghanistan has withstood large subject powers. It is harmless to accidental that maintaining bid successful the portion is successful astir people’s champion interests.