A Roadmap to Solve the Afghan-Pakistan Conflict
Belgian-Style Neutrality Could End the Afghanistan-Pakistan Conflict Seventy years of peace. That is what Belgium purchased in 1839 by trading its sovereignty for a guarantee of neutrality, enshrined in the Treaty of London, with the great powers of Europe as co-signatories. Afghanistan — landlocked, besieged, and sandwiched between rivals just as Belgium once was — should study that bargain carefully. It may be the only one on offer. Last week, Pakistan launched its deadliest strike on Afghan soil in months. Islamabad says it killed dozens of militants. Kabul says it killed civilians. Both are probably right, and both are certainly angrier. This latest exchange is not a crisis so much as a symptom — one more flare-up in a decades-long standoff in which each side accuses the other of interference, proxy warfare, and bad faith. The grievances are real and deeply entrenched. Pakistan accuses the Taliban regime of providing sanctuary and logistical support to the Tehreek-e-Taliba...