Pakistan, Oct. 11 -- Late Thursday night, two explosions ripped through Kabul's skyline, and the Taliban regime leapt to accuse Islamabad of bombing a market in Paktika, violating airspace above Kabul and committing an act of aggression previously unimagined. Their social media posts thundered warnings, "the consequences will be attributed to the Pakistani army." But behind these claims lies a dangerous inversion. Pakistan, having absorbed nonstop militant bloodletting at its frontier, is now framed as the aggressor.

While accusations swirl, Pakistan's military spokesman, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, has issued a single line heavy with threat in his much-anticipated presser, "To safeguard Pakistani lives and properties, what measures ne...