Michael Hughes: Although the Taliban at the moment may not need weapons from Rawalpindi due to the gifts left behind by the U.S. military, Afghanistan needs Pakistan as an export market, while Islamabad, for its part, needs the regime in Kabul to deny the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) sanctuary. However, despite these mutual strategic necessities, tensions between Kabul and Islamabad are seeming to rise by the day because of other diverging interests. A major driver of the cleavage is the Afghan Taliban’s egoistic need to no longer be seen as Pakistan’s “proxy” warriors. This goes hand-in-hand with a strong interest in maintaining its Islamist bonafides when it comes to dealing with TTP. Afterall, what kind of hardcore Islamic radical movement throws Muslim insurgents under the bus? Click here to read more.