Bangladesh, Nov. 13 -- Russias expanding engagement with Afghanistans Taliban government is exposing an increasingly uncomfortable divide between Moscow and Islamabad. What Russia considers a pragmatic effort to stabilize Afghanistan and strengthen regional security, Pakistan increasingly views through the lens of strategic uncertainty, border tensions and longstanding geopolitical mistrust. The failure of the latest Moscow Format consultations to produce a joint statement has brought these differences into the open, raising questions about the future of regional cooperation and Russia-Pakistan relations.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov recently described the Moscow Format as the most representative platform for developing regiona...