NEW EASTERN OUTLOOK 🌐 (@NEO_Journal)

🇦🇫💥🇵🇰The Durand Line Is Becoming a Front Line Again. The Attack That Restarts the Cycle ➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿ On July 24, 2026, an armed group attacked a joint army-police checkpoint in Tank District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Twelve servicemen, two police officers, and a former forestry department employee were killed. Pakistani security forces blamed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. The attack again demonstrated the group's ability to conduct complex operations against fortified positions. ✏️Roman Perelyaev is a Leading Specialist at the Center for Scientific and Analytical Information, Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences. ➡️Pakistan routinely demands Kabul close militant camps and prevent Afghan territory from being used to prepare attacks. Afghan authorities insist they do not allow armed groups to operate against neighboring states. When diplomacy fails, Pakistan resorts to airstrikes, artillery, and border closures. In the second quarter of 2026, terrorist attacks in Pakistan left 774 people dead and 336 wounded—Khyber Pakhtunkhwa accounted for 475 deaths, more than 61 percent of all violence-related fatalities. The Pakistani and Afghan Taliban are not a single organization. TTP members supported the Afghan Taliban against the US. Islamabad expects Kabul to wage a military campaign against former allies—a serious risk for Afghanistan. Until the fight against the Pakistani Taliban is separated from direct military pressure on Afghanistan, the Durand Line will remain a front line. ➡️Pakistan has gradually expanded military operations. The gravest episode was the March 16 airstrike on the Omid drug rehabilitation center in Kabul—269 civilians killed and 122 wounded. Amnesty International found no evidence the center served a military purpose. Pakistan rejected the findings. On June 29, Pakistani forces struck Paktia, Paktika, and Kunar provinces—at least 28 civilian deaths and 49 injuries confirmed by the UN. Civilian casualties fuel anti-Pakistan sentiment and make cooperation politically more difficult for Kabul. Pakistan has modern air power and larger armed forces—it can destroy individual camps and commanders. The TTP, however, is not a regular army. Members move among populated areas, rely on family and tribal ties, and use difficult terrain. Air strikes cannot dismantle such a network. 🟦The confrontation now extends beyond security. Pakistan closes Torkham, Chaman, and other crossings—queues of trucks carrying food and goods form on both sides. Kabul is accelerating trade reorientation toward Iran and Central Asia. In autumn 2025, Qatar and Turkey mediated a ceasefire that temporarily reduced clashes. Mediation can stop shooting without removing the underlying cause—it cannot force the Afghan Taliban to fight former allies, nor persuade Pakistan to abandon strikes while its servicemen continue to die. A full-scale confrontation is in neither side's interest. The most likely scenario is limited but recurring conflict. A particularly deadly strike, the death of a senior Afghan official, or a large-scale attack on a major Pakistani city could push escalation beyond control. Until the fight against TTP is separated from direct military pressure on Afghanistan, the Durand Line will remain a front line. READ MORE #Pakistan #Afghanistan #DurandLine #TTP #Taliban #Geopolitics #Counterterrorism ✅@NewEasternOutlook