Rhetoric as Strategy: How Narrative Framing Sustains Escalation in Afghanistan–Pakistan Relations

The Afghanistan–Pakistan conflict remains unresolved and, if anything, still escalating. Since September, the two governments have repeated the same cycle of warning, strike, denial, and counter-warning. On September 18, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told Al Arabiya that any Pakistani strike invoking Article 51 self-defense would meet a “crushing response”, while calling for Saudi mediation. A […]