Afghanistan, Sept. 20 -- Pakistan increasingly frames its confrontation with Afghanistan in the language of national security, terrorism and self-defence. Islamabad accuses the Taliban authorities of allowing the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant groups to operate from Afghan territory - an allegation Kabul repeatedly denies.
But behind this interstate dispute lies another reality: ordinary Afghans - refugees, children, students, journalists, patients, traders and families - have repeatedly borne the consequences.
The pattern extends far beyond the battlefield. It runs from homes searched in Pakistani cities to families separated during deportation; from Afghan students ordered out of universities to journalists facing r...