Recent developments in Afghanistan have set off alarm bells in the Indian strategic community and gains achieved over the past 8-9 years are seen at risk. The author in this book does not see the Afghanistan situation in isolation but very correctly sites it within the complexity of equations between Afghanistan and Pakistan. India is an important part of this equation but this is another facet, much more important that many observers and policymakers mostly ignore, and that is the existential threat to itself that Pakistan sees from its western neighbour resulting largely from the unresolved issue of what is crudely referred to as Pashtunistan.