Bangladesh, Oct. 12 -- Afghanistan and Pakistan share one of the most complex and volatile relationships in South Asia. Bound by deep cultural, religious, and ethnic ties, yet divided by decades of political distrust and security tensions, the two neighbors remain caught between the hope for stability and the reality of persistent friction. While Afghanistans Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi recently described the future of India–Afghanistan relations as “very bright,” his silence regarding Pakistan reveals much about the current state of ties between Kabul and Islamabad – strained, uncertain, and burdened by mutual suspicion.

Afghanistan and Pakistan are linked by a 2,600-kilometer-long border – the Duran...