Bangladesh, Dec. 27 -- Pakistans relationship with Afghanistan has deteriorated and sunk to its lowest point in years. It is marked by constant recriminations, recurrent border skirmishes and a growing sense of strategic frustration in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. This frustration at deterioration was laid bare on December 10, when Pakistans Chief of Defence Forces and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir issued a blunt warning to the Afghan Taliban: Kabul must choose between its ties with Pakistan and its alleged support for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.

The statement, delivered at the National Ulema Conference in Islamabad with religious leaders of every persuasion in attendance, was remarkable not merely for its content but for ...