Why Are Pakistan and Afghanistan at Odds?

Pakistan’s repeated accusations that the Afghan Taliban shelter armed groups are at the heart of its dispute with neighbouring Afghanistan.

According to Pakistan, those groups use Afghan territory to plan and carry out attacks against it. The allegations place cross-border security at the centre of the tensions.

Pakistan’s complaint is therefore not only about the armed groups themselves, but also about the sanctuary it says they receive under the Afghan Taliban. That distinction helps explain why attacks by militants become a source of confrontation between the neighbours.

The central issue is responsibility for preventing Afghan territory from being used for attacks on Pakistan. Islamabad’s accusations frame that as a failure by the Afghan Taliban, though the allegations alone do not establish the extent of any Taliban involvement.