Tensions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, also known as the Durand Line, have escalated since the Afghan Taliban’s return to power in August 2021. The Taliban regime has reaffirmed Afghanistan’s longstanding stance on the border’s status.
Addressing a gathering in Logar, Afghanistan on 16th February 2024, Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai declared that Afghanistan has never recognised the Durand Line and never will. “Today half of Afghanistan is separated and lies on the other side of the Durand Line,” he claimed.
Rejection of the border has been the official policy of Kabul since Pakistan’s independence. This stance originates from both misinformation and disinformation, driven by myths surrounding the border, which extends from the Chinese frontier in the north-east to the Iranian border in the south-west.
Historical context
This border was established under the Durand Agreement, signed in November 1893 by the Afghan ruler Amir Abdur Rahman and British Indian Foreign Secretary Mortimer Durand.
Several scholars argue that the agreement was signed by Amir Abdur Rahman under “duress.” However, historical records show that it was the Amir himself who proposed the delimitation of the border, writing to the British Government of India four times to request its formal identification.
Initially, the British showed little interest in the proposal and even did not respond to his letters. It was only after his fourth request that they sent Mortimer Durand to Kabul—at the Amir’s own suggestion.
Mortimer Durand departed from Peshawar for Kabul on September 19, 1893. He was accompanied by a delegation that included AH McMahon, Captain Manners-Smith, Colonel Elles, Dr. Fenn, John Stewart Donald, and Khan Bahadur Ibrahim Khan.
Under international law, the British government supported Pakistan’s position. Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations Philip John Noel-Baker issued a statement on 30th June 1950, refuting Afghanistan’s claim.
Upon reaching the border at Landi Kotal, they were warmly received by Afghan Commander-in-Chief Ghulam Haider Khan. In Kabul, they were accorded an unprecedented welcome, marked by a 21-gun salute.
Mortimer Durand, a brilliant Indian civil servant with a strong command of Persian, faced the formidable “Iron Amir” who warned that “I would fight you if you drove me to it. I am not a coward, and I would fight.” Mortimer Durand remained in Kabul for 63 days and ultimately inked two agreements on November 12, 1893.
The first agreement was about Roshan and Shignan with Amir Abdur Rahman agreeing to exchange these areas with Tsarist Russia in return for Darwaz.
The second one defined the border between British India and Afghanistan. Its text was written in English and Persian, and five maps were exchanged, detailing the entire boundary.
The following day, a great darbar—a grand function which is arranged to mark a major event or achievement—was organised in Kabul to celebrate the event.
In The Life of Abdur Rahman: Amir of Afghanistan, Mir Munshi Sultan Mahomed Khan recounts that during his address, Amir Abdur Rahman expressed gratitude to Mortimer Durand and his delegation for their visit to resolve the border issue. Mortimer Durand also spoke on the occasion, delivering an impromptu speech in Persian.
Brigadier-General Sir Percy Sykes notes in The Right Honourable Sir Mortimer Durand: A Biography that Amir Abdur Rahman was so pleased with the agreement that he awarded a golden star to Mortimer Durand and presented prizes to every member of his team.
Additionally, he granted a cash reward of 30,000 rupees for distribution among members of the mission.
Mortimer Durand demonstrated extreme flexibility and allowed Amir Abdur Rahman to retain Asmar. It was an independent Khanate—a small principality/fiefdom governed by a tribal chieftain through heredity—of Bajaur, which Afghan troops had occupied in 1892.
Under international law, the British government supported Pakistan’s position. Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations Philip John Noel-Baker issued a statement on 30th June 1950, refuting Afghanistan’s claim.
In a letter dated May 7, 1894, Peshawar Deputy Commissioner H.A. Dean informed the Peshawar Commissioner that Mortimer Durand had also permitted Afghanistan to occupy and annex the Shortan, Marawara, and Hissara areas of Bajaur. The correspondence is documented in Foreign Frontier Department File No. 52.
Similarly, in a note dated January 10, 1894, Punjab Lieutenant Governor Sir Dennis Fitzpatrick informed the Foreign Department that the Lalpura area of Mohmand and Birmal of Waziristan were also given to Afghanistan as a goodwill gesture.
Two years later, Afghan soldiers occupied the Basghal valley of Chitral, renaming it Nuristan. The border near Chitral, Dir and Bajaur was pushed 75 miles southward. British Boundary Commissioner Richard Udny described this shift as “a remarkably friendly concession.”
The strategic Wakhan Corridor was placed under Afghan control despite resistance by Amir Abdur Rahman, who argued that Wakhan was too remote to govern from Kabul.
According to the Memorandum of conversation between Sir Mortimer Durand and the Amir at Kila-e-Hashim Khan on October 29, 1893, as well as Brigadier-General Sir Percy Sykes states in The Right Honourable Sir Mortimer Durand: A Biography, the British sanctioned annual assistance of 50,000 rupees for Kabul to smoothly run the administration of Wakhan.
The decision disheartened Mir Ali Mardan Shah, the ruler of Wakhan, who had sought to merge his Khanate with Chitral. As a result, he relocated to Ishkoman valley of Ghizar district, Gilgit-Baltistan.
On July 19, 1896, the British appointed him as the governor of the valley, where he remained until his death in 1924. This is recorded in the Standing Order issued by Gilgit Political Agent G.S. Robertson which is available in File No. PLG. 55 of Biddulph House Public Library, Gilgit.
Through the Durand Agreement, Kabul secured significant territorial gains, along with an increase in its annual subsidy, a practice that was not new to the Afghans.
(It is worth mentioning that under the treaty of Gandamak, signed on May 26, 1879, the British initially sanctioned an annual subsidy of 600,000 rupees for Afghanistan in exchange for control over its foreign affairs).
Afghanistan adopted a hostile stance, with its envoy to the United Nations, Hussain Aziz, opposing Pakistan’s membership in September 1947. Although Afghanistan withdrew its objection three weeks later, the damage had already been done.
This encouraged Afghan authorities to make further territorial claims, leading to their occupation of the Dokalim area of Chitral in 1912. This event was documented in a letter sent by British Indian Foreign Secretary to the Chief Commissioner of NWFP on March 22, 1926.
The succeeding Afghan governments upheld the validity of the Durand Agreement until Pakistan’s emergence in August 1947, signing new treaties to reaffirm its legitimacy.
Speculations about the Durand resurfaced in the 1990s, with some scholars claiming it was intended to last only a century and expired in 1993. However, this claim is unfounded, as the agreement has no time limit.
Another misconception suggests that the border remains undemarcated. In reality, except for the Mohmand section (Palosai-Nawa Pass), the entire border was demarcated by joint commissions, including the Baluch-Afghan Boundary Commission, the Waziristan-Afghan Boundary Commission and the Asmar Boundary Commission.
Agreements were signed after the demarcation of each section; maps were exchanged and border pillars were constructed to mark the boundary.
As a successor of British India, Pakistan inherited the Durand Line as its border. However, Pakistan’s claim over the border was met with resistance from Kabul. In June 1949, the Afghan Loya Jirga (grand assembly) formally repudiated the Anglo-Afghan agreements.
Since 1947, Kabul has pursued the establishment of a ‘Greater Afghanistan’ reminiscent of the empire that existed under Ahmad Shah Abdali (1747-1772). Every Afghan government, from Zahir Shah to the Taliban, has refused the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, making it a bone of contention between the two countries.
Persistent claims & disinformation
Afghanistan contends that the Durand Agreement was signed with British India, not Pakistan, and argues that Pakistan is not the legal successor of British India.
However, the Indian Independence Act of July 1947, explicitly states, that “…two independent Dominions shall be set up in India, to be known respectively as India and Pakistan,” affirming Pakistan’s legal inheritance of the agreements made by British India.
The partition of British India in 1947 resulted in the creation of two states, Pakistan and India, each with its international status and obligations.
However, Afghanistan adopted a hostile stance, with its envoy to the United Nations, Hussain Aziz, opposing Pakistan’s membership in September 1947. Although Afghanistan withdrew its objection three weeks later, the damage had already been done.
Legal & political recognition
Under international law, the British government supported Pakistan’s position. Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations Philip John Noel-Baker issued a statement on 30th June 1950, refuting Afghanistan’s claim.
Further reinforcing this stance, British Prime Minister Anthony Eden declared in 1956 that Pakistan had inherited the powers formerly exercised by the Crown in India over the North-West Frontier. He reaffirmed that the British government fully recognised Pakistan’s sovereignty over the areas along the Durand Line.
The ICJ has consistently upheld the principle of international law Uti Possidetis, ruling that ‘a boundary established by a treaty achieves a permanence which the treaty itself does not necessarily enjoy.’ Even if a treaty expires, the established border remains unchanged unless altered by mutual agreement between the states concerned.
Similarly, Article 11 (a) of the Vienna Convention on Succession of States in respect of Treaties 1978 states that a succession of states does not affect a “boundary established by a treaty.”
Security implications
To strengthen border security and curb terrorism, Pakistan has fenced the Durand Line. However, former Afghan presidents, Hamid Karzai and Ashraf Ghani, opposed fencing.
Border barriers are a common phenomenon and many countries worldwide, with many countries erecting fences and walls to safeguard their frontiers from illegal immigration and security threats.
Poland has built a 186-kilometre-long wall along its border with Belarus, while Austria, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Macedonia, and Slovenia have also fenced their borders to prevent unauthorised migration.
Finland is currently constructing a border fence with Russia, and Iran has been building a wall along its border with Afghanistan to counter-narcotics smuggling and other illicit activities.
International law does not prohibit states from strengthening control over their borders.
The Taliban refuse to recognise the Durand Line as an international border, yet Kabul has failed to gain international support on this issue.
Consequently, instead of raising it at global forums, Afghan authorities rely on press statements to stir up public sentiment. If Kabul were serious about challenging the border’s legitimacy, it would have approached the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
However, it is unlikely to do so, as historical precedents show similar territorial disputes—such as Burkina Faso and Mali, Nicaragua and Honduras, Libya and Chad, and Cambodia and Thailand—have not been successful in court.
The ICJ has consistently upheld the principle of international law Uti Possidetis, ruling that “a boundary established by a treaty achieves a permanence which the treaty itself does not necessarily enjoy.”
TREATIES, ENGAGEMENTS_compressedEven if a treaty expires, the established border remains unchanged unless altered by mutual agreement between the states concerned.
Moving ahead
Rather than engaging in a never-ending debate, the Afghans should prioritise addressing Afghanistan’s internal challenges and tackling organisations operating within its territory.
Cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan is essential to achieving regional stability. Both nations have suffered immensely from terrorism, and they cannot afford further human and material losses.
