Explained: A look at Durand Line border between Afghanistan and Pakistan

Amid the 2021 Taliban offensive, another issue that is drawing the attention of policymakers is Durand Line and its impact on peace and stability in Afghanistan. 

Afghanistan considers Durand Line as a disputed border demarcation with no legal sanctity and calls it a de facto border. 

The problem associated with the Durand Line

The Pashtun led Taliban has never recognised the Durand Line between Afghanistan and Pakistan and is the cause of trouble between the neighbours' post-1947. 

Of late, Pakistan has unilaterally started fencing the Durand Line causing much uproar in Afghanistan, both at the government and public level. 

With the Taliban's swift militant victory over Afghanistan, Pakistan would want to get the Taliban to accept the border, which in turn, will give it strategic advantages in the long run.

The historical genesis of Durand Line

Durand Line dates back to the later half of the 19th century and can be attributed to the complex geopolitics prevalent in Afghanistan due to the imperialistic overture both on part of Tsarist Russia and the Colonial British administration of India.  

Both Russia and the US wanted to have greater control over Afghanistan keeping their respective strategic interests in mind. Simultaneously, the Afghan rulers too wanted to preserve their autonomy. 

In a bid to counter Russian advancement, the British colonial administration treated Afghanistan as a buffer and its boundary with Central Asia as a frontier. 

The apprehension on part of the then British colonial administration in India grew due to the growing penetration of the Russian goods in Afghanistan, along with heavy Russian military presence in the vicinity of North Afghanistan. 

British Colonial administrator, Sir Henry Mortimer Durand set out some of the reasons which propelled the Colonial British Administration to step into Afghanistan. These are:

1- Russia's advancement into Central Asia.

2- The Afghans lost faith in Russia and agreed to have no dealings with foreign powers.

3- Taken over by the British forces of Kurram Valley provided an alternative route into Afghanistan. 

Although the British controlled the Kurram Valley, there was a need to protect its administration and the frontier of India in the late 19th century from both foreign European powers and tribal raids. 

These aforementioned strategic imperatives propelled the British colonial administrator to conclude a negotiation with Afghanistan to create a buffer zone in 1893, known as Durand Line Agreement. 

Legal Status of Durand Line

Delimitation of the de facto boundary between Afghanistan and India was one of the major legal implications of the aforementioned agreement. 

As part of the Agreement, the then Amir of Afghanistan retained his position in the Wakhan, Asmar district and Wazir district. Concurrently, he agreed to transfer Pashtun dominated regions including Swat and Chitral. 

Numerous studies have suggested that the Durrand Line is legally void, thus, post-1947, Pakistan has no right to control the regions that Afghanistan considers as its own.

Below-mentioned are some of the reasons as to why Durand Line is not legally binding on Afghanistan:

1- Signed between the Amir of Afghanistan and the then colonial British administration in India, the treaty has not been ratified by any legislative bodies of either side. 

2- It was not an internationally recognized boundary but a de-facto arrangement keeping the geopolitical developments in mind at that point in time.

3- In 1921, a document was inked by Afghanistan and British Colonial administration that provided three years terms for the treaty and its revocation, provided both the parties agree.

4- The British colonial Administration signed the treaty using duress in 1893 and any law inked under duress is invalid under International Law.

Relevance of Durand Line in the present context

Although the agreement was signed, the Afghans were unhappy with it as the regions given to the British were arbitrary in nature. Additionally, the people of these regions were Pashtuns and Afghanistan had itself originated from this region, and redrawing of territories led to the weakening of the identity of people as they were cut off from their roots and the rest of the community. 

Amir admitted the grave mistake he made by signing the Accord and the locals too showed resentment against the Durrand Accord. 

As Afghanistan is a landlocked nation, it is unable to access the sea through Baluchistan as the Durrand Agreement carved out most of the territories which are now a part of Pakistan. 

Post-1947, there is a growing demand to merge Pashtaun dominated territories with Afghanistan as Pakistan has no locus standi to keep Pashtun dominated areas under its control. 

Amrullah Saleh in a tweet on Durrand Line, "No Afghan politician of national stature can overlook the issue of Durand Line. It will condemn him or her in life and the afterlife. It is an issue that needs discussions and resolution. Expecting us to gift it for free is unrealistic. Peshawar used to be the winner capital of Afg."

Read: Explained: Who are the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan?

Also Read: Will Taliban impose Sharia law in Afghanistan: Afghan women fear the return of the dark period