Pakistan, May 31 -- On May 27, 2025, Moscow and Kabul announced that they had signed a military?technical cooperation pact-the first formal step since Russia recognised the Taliban regime almost a year ago after removing it from the list of banned terrorist groups.

Interestingly, around the same time, Pakistan's deputy premier and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, en route to Washington, prepared to tell his American hosts that Afghanistan's soil must not be used by the Tehreek?i?Taliban Pakistan or other groups that terrorise Pakistan. These two movements-one toward arms and alliances, the other toward diplomatic persuasion-frame the fault lines across which Afghanistan is once again being pulled. Dar was coming straight from China where a j...