{"id":21007,"date":"2026-03-19T16:49:32","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T15:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foundationmaxvanderstoel.nl\/?p=21007"},"modified":"2026-03-19T16:49:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T15:49:32","slug":"waar-komt-de-escalatie-tussen-afghanistan-en-pakistan-vandaan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foundationmaxvanderstoel.nl\/en\/waar-komt-de-escalatie-tussen-afghanistan-en-pakistan-vandaan\/","title":{"rendered":"Where is the escalation between Afghanistan and Pakistan coming from?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photo: Afghan families cross the border after their forced departure from Pakistan and return to a precarious situation in Afghanistan (Flickr<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

Tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have risen sharply again following a major attack in Kabul. A Pakistani airstrike on a rehab clinic is believed to have killed possibly hundreds, according to the Afghan health ministry even 408<\/a>. The attack is not an isolated one, but part of a wider escalation. Already on 27 February, Pakistan declared \u2018open war\u2019 on Afghanistan after airstrikes on border areas. Since then, violence has escalated rapidly, with reciprocal bombings, border fighting and tens of thousands of displaced people: 115,000 Afghans and 3,000 Pakistanis have fled the country<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The immediate cause was a Pakistani attack on the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the \u2018Pakistani Taliban\u2019. This militant group is held responsible for several attacks in Pakistan. According to the Pakistani government, TTP fighters are holed up in Afghanistan, while the Afghan Taliban have said this deny<\/a> and see the bombings as an intrusion into their territory.<\/p>\n

What drives the tensions between the two countries, and what does it mean for the millions of people living in Pakistan and Afghanistan?<\/p>\n

A border that was never accepted<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan date back to the creation of Pakistan in 1947. A central bone of contention is the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan: the so-called Durand line<\/a>. This border was established in 1893 by the British colonial administration in India and the Afghan emir Abdur Rahman Khan. The line divided the traditional habitat of the Pashtun people between two areas: present-day Afghanistan and what would later become Pakistan. This suddenly placed many families, tribes and trade routes on different sides of an international border.<\/p>\n

When Pakistan gained independence in 1947, it inherited this border from British India and considered the Durand Line an official international border. However, Afghanistan has never fully recognised that border. Many Afghans regard the Pashtun areas in what is now northwest Pakistan as historically part of their cultural and political sphere of influence. At various periods, Afghan leaders supported movements that advocated for an independent Pashtunistan<\/a>, which was seen in Pakistan as interference in domestic affairs.<\/p>\n

Military threat along the border<\/strong><\/p>\n

The border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been a source of tension for years, partly due to the presence of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). This militant group targets the Pakistani state and is responsible for numerous attacks on military and civilian targets. In 2024 alone, at least 600 attacks<\/a> registered.<\/p>\n

One of the main objectives of the TTP is to expel security forces from the tribal areas and the restoration of their former semi-autonomous status<\/a>. The TTP's leaders come from the Mehsud tribe and share strong ethnic ties with the local Pashtun population, especially in South Waziristan. The group emerged in the early 2000s from Pakistani Taliban fragments and other radical Pashtun militias, and combines religious rhetoric with Pashtun nationalism<\/a>. Fighters use Afghanistan's remote border areas as a base of operations: here they can operate relatively safely, plan attacks and then retreat across the border. According to a UN report<\/a> they are still receiving financial support from the Afghan Taliban, which Pakistan says is contributing to the increase in attacks in the country.<\/p>\n

Pakistan therefore justifies airstrikes and military operations in border areas as necessary to eliminate TTP networks. The Taliban in Kabul However, reject these accusations<\/a>. They argue that Pakistan violates Afghan sovereignty with such attacks and that civilians in the border region often bear the brunt of the violence.<\/p>\n

Domestic political interests<\/strong><\/p>\n

The escalation on the border has not only a military but also a domestic political function in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. The TTP has carried out several deadly attacks on police posts, army bases and civilians in recent years. By taking military action against TTP positions and border areas, the Pakistani government wants to show that it is trying to control the security situation. As a result, military actions along the Afghan-Pakistani border are also a important political signal<\/a> are towards its own population.<\/p>\n

A similar dynamic is at play for the Taliban in Afghanistan. Since taking power in 2021, they have been trying to consolidate their authority, while at the same time struggling with internal tensions and economic problems. Analysts point out<\/a> that external conflicts can strengthen cohesion within the movement and allow the Taliban to present itself as a defender of Afghan sovereignty. In some cases, it can also lead to increased domestic support.<\/p>\n

What does the conflict mean for women?<\/strong><\/p>\n

This internal consolidation of power also affects the position of women in Afghanistan. Since taking power in 2021, the Taliban have already largely removed women from public life. Girls are no longer allowed to attend secondary school, women are not allowed to go outside without a male escort, and recently Taliban allows men to beat their wives<\/a>.<\/p>\n

An escalating conflict could further strengthen that repression. In times of violence, international attention often shifts to security and stability, which can reduce pressure on the Taliban to adjust their human rights policies.<\/p>\n

In addition, the deteriorating security situation has direct economic consequences. Humanitarian organisations have reduced their activities already have to limit<\/a>, partly because the Taliban have banned women from working for many international NGOs. Combined with increasing insecurity, this could lead to women moving even less freely in public.<\/p>\n

How next?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mutual distrust between Afghanistan and Pakistan remains deep-rooted. As long as Pakistan continues to launch attacks on the TTP, and the Afghan Taliban continue to see this as a violation of their sovereignty, rapid de-escalation seems unlikely. This tension not only threatens to further destabilise the border region, but also worsens the position of vulnerable groups, such as women, who are already under severe pressure from Taliban policies.<\/p>\n

Moreover, the current escalation cannot be separated from the broader legacy of 20 years of Western intervention in Afghanistan. With the withdrawal of Western troops in 2021, a power vacuum was created in which existing tensions immediately resurfaced and armed groups regained space. Analysts warned at the time<\/a> already that this would worsen the relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan and conflicts were likely to escalate.<\/p>\n

A lasting solution therefore lies not in military action but in diplomatic mediation. Regional players and international organisations urgently need to use their influence to bring about a ceasefire and a framework for talks before the conflict claims more victims and tensions become irreversible.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Foto: Afghaanse gezinnen steken de grens over na hun gedwongen vertrek uit Pakistan en keren terug naar een onzekere situatie in Afghanistan (Flickr) De spanningen tussen Afghanistan en Pakistan zijn opnieuw scherp opgelopen na een zware aanval in Kabul. Bij een Pakistaanse luchtaanval op een afkickkliniek zouden mogelijk honderden doden zijn gevallen, volgens het Afghaanse […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":21008,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","location-afghanistan","location-pakistan","region-midden-oosten-en-noord-afrika"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foundationmaxvanderstoel.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foundationmaxvanderstoel.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foundationmaxvanderstoel.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foundationmaxvanderstoel.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foundationmaxvanderstoel.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21007"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/foundationmaxvanderstoel.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21007\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21009,"href":"https:\/\/foundationmaxvanderstoel.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21007\/revisions\/21009"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foundationmaxvanderstoel.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foundationmaxvanderstoel.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foundationmaxvanderstoel.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foundationmaxvanderstoel.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}