Delhi and Kabul are thinking that "the enemy's enemy is a friend" with an eye on Pakistan, writes Happymon Jacob.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said the Taliban regime in Afghanistan recently launched an unprovoked attack on Pakistan at India’s behest as the neighbouring countries faced

The Taliban responded with contradictory stances in the effort to rescue women and girls who were wounded and left homeless. That's a reflection of tensions between hardliners and pragmatists.

Despite the challenges to peace, both know they will hurt from continued hostilities – and need a path to peace.

Pakistan’s military, long seen as the backbone of its state power, remains large but increasingly hollowed out by corruption, low morale, and overreliance on China.

Afghanistan has no fighter jets and no real air force to speak of. It is known to possess at least six aircraft - some of them dating back again to the Soviet era - and 23 helicopters, although it is not possible to assess how many are in flying condition.

Three days after being excluded from a press conference fronted by Taliban’s foreign minister in India, women journalists took their seats in a powerful show of force to question him about the social exclusion of Afghan women.