The Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid informed a channel in Pakistan that Afghans stand in opposition to the fence erected by Pakistan along the Durand line. He said The new Afghan government will announce its position on this issue. The fencing has separated people and divided families. We want to create a secure and peaceful environment on the border so there is no need to create barriers."
Know all about the Durand Line and the reason it is a point of discord among Pakistan and Afghanistan below.
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Durand Line: Details
The Durand Line is the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is a 2670 kilometres ling international land border between these two countries. The western end runs into the borders of Iran and the Eastern end can be seen touching China.
The Durand Line was established in 1893. It is an international border between British India and the Emirate of Afghanistan established by Mortimer Durand and Abdur Rahman Khan.
Why is Durand Line a Point of Traction Between Pakistan & Afghanistan?
Why was Durand Line Established?
The Durand Line is a legacy of the 19th century Great Game between Britain and Russia where Afghanistan was used as a buffer by the British.
There was an agreement that demarcated the separation of Afghanistan and India then which came to be called as Durand Line in 1893. Abdur Rehman then became the king of Afghanistan and the British took control over some parts of the country then. He was a British puppet basically.
What did the line actually do?
The line created two spheres of influence. As per Clause 4 of the agreement, a “frontier line” was to be laid down in detail. It would be demarcated by British and Afghan commissioners “whose object will be to arrive by mutual understanding at a boundary which shall adhere with the greatest possible exactness to the line shown in the map attached to this agreement, having to die regard to the existing local rights of villages adjoining the frontier”
However, the line divided the Pashtun tribal areas, leaving villages and lands along with families divided. If you ask the people living in those areas, they would say, it is a line of hatred. It also put on the British side the strategic Khyber Pass.
After the independence of India, the Durand LIne fell with Pakistan to manage. It also inherited the Pashtun hatred along with the line. The evidence of this hatred was visible when Afghanistan was the only country to vote against Pakistan joining the United Nations in 1947.
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan at the time of Partition demanded a separate Pashtunistan. Pakistan created the Taliban which is to date seen as a move obliterating ethnic Pashtuns with Islamic identity. It however did not work out as per Pakistan's will. Taliban rejected the Durand line and strengthened the Taliban identity by producing Islamic radicalization of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. Long story short Pakistan attempts every time to normalise the situation and formalise the boundary but it is not acceptable by the Taliban and the Pashtuns.
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