Dhaka, May 9 -- The statement issued by Afghanistan's Taliban government denouncing the recent terrorist attack in the Indian resort of Pahalgam, in Jammu and Kashmir, was eye-opening. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs conveyed condolences to the families of the overwhelmingly Indian victims - 26 civilians - emphasizing that such attacks jeopardize regional security. The implicit rebuke of the terrorists' handlers in Pakistan has not gone unnoticed.

This is hardly the first sign of the Taliban's growing estrangement from its erstwhile backers in Pakistan. In fact, by the end of last year, relations had deteriorated enough that Pakistan's Special Representative for Afghanistan, Muhammad Sadiq Khan, headed to Kabul for talks with senior Tali...