Editing Durand Line

{{Short description|International border between Afghanistan and Pakistan}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox border
 | name              = Durand Line
 | image             = File:Afghanistan-Pakistan border.png
 | caption           = Map marking the Durand Line border in red
 | territory1        = {{AFG}}
 | territory2        = {{PAK}}
 | length            = {{cvt|2640|km}}
 | enclaves          =
 | established       = 12 November 1893
 | establishedreason = Signing of the Durand Line Agreement at the end of the first phase of the [[Second Anglo-Afghan War]]
 | current           = 8 August 1919
 | currentreason     = [[Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919]] ratified at the end of the [[Third Anglo-Afghan War]]
 | disestablished    =
 | treaties          = [[Treaty of Gandamak]], Durand Line Agreement, [[Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919|Treaty of Rawalpindi]]
 | notes             =
}}
The '''Durand Line''' ({{langx|ps|د ډیورنډ کرښه}}; {{langx|ur|{{nq|ڈیورنڈ لکیر}}}}; {{langx|prs|خط دیورند}}), also known as the '''Afghanistan–Pakistan border''', is a {{convert|2640|km|adj=on}} [[international border]] between [[Afghanistan]] and [[Pakistan]] in [[South Asia]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Pakistan|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/pakistan/|publisher=CIA World Factbook|access-date=30 September 2020|archive-date=10 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110014011/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/pakistan/|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Efn|India also claims to have a border with Afghanistan on the eastern part of the Durand Line due to its claim on [[Kashmir]]. (See [[Borders of India#Land borders of India]].)}} The western end runs to the border with [[Iran]] and the eastern end to the border with [[China]].

The Durand Line was established in 1893 as the international border between the [[Emirate of Afghanistan]] and the [[British Indian Empire]] by [[Mortimer Durand]], a British diplomat of the [[Indian Civil Service]], and [[Abdur Rahman Khan]], the [[List of monarchs of Afghanistan|Emir of Afghanistan]], to fix the limit of their respective [[Sphere of influence|spheres of influence]] and improve diplomatic relations and trade. Britain considered Afghanistan to be an independent state at the time, although they controlled its [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Afghanistan)|foreign affairs]] and [[Foreign relations of Afghanistan|diplomatic relations]].

The single-page Agreement, dated 12 November 1893, contains seven short articles, including a commitment not to exercise [[Interventionism (politics)|interference]] beyond the Durand Line.<ref name="LoC-Smith">{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/geogmap/pub/afghanistan.html|title=A Selection of Historical Maps of Afghanistan – The Durand Line|publisher=Library of Congress|location=United States|first=Cynthia|last=Smith|date=August 2004|access-date=11 February 2011|archive-date=9 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109025224/http://www.loc.gov/rr/geogmap/pub/afghanistan.html|url-status=live}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> A joint British-Afghan [[Demarcation line|demarcation]] survey took place starting from 1894, covering some {{Convert|800|mi|}} of the border.<ref>"The total length of the boundary which had been delimited and demarcated between March 1894 and May 1896, amounted to 800 miles". The long stretch from the [[Kabul River]] to China, including the [[Wakhan Corridor]], was declared demarcated by virtue of its continuous, distinct watershed ridgeline, leaving only the section near the [[Khyber Pass]], which was finally demarcated in 1921: {{cite web
|url=https://archive.org/stream/historyofafghani031122mbp/historyofafghani031122mbp_djvu.txt|title=A History of Afghanistan Vol. II|author=Brig.-Gen. Sir [[Percy Sykes]], K.C.I.E., C.B., C.M.G., Gold Medalist of the Royal Geographical Society|publisher=MacMillan & Co.|year=1940|location=London|pages=182–188, 200–208|access-date=5 December 2009}}</ref><ref name=Hay>An adjustment to the demarcation was made at [[Arundu]] in the early 1930s: {{cite journal|last=Hay|first=Maj. W. R.|title=Demarcation of the Indo-Afghan Boundary in the Vicinity of Arandu|journal=Geographical Journal|volume=LXXXII|issue=4|date=October 1933|pages=351–354 |doi=10.2307/1785903 |jstor=1785903 |bibcode=1933GeogJ..82..351H }}</ref> Established towards the end of the British–Russian "[[Great Game]]" rivalry, the resulting line established Afghanistan as a [[buffer zone]] between British and Russian interests in the region.<ref>{{cite book|title=Battleground: Government and Politics, Volume 1|first=Kathleen|last=Uradnik|page=18|publisher=ABC-CLIO|date=2011|isbn=978-0313343131|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uarFTBpg11wC&pg=PA18|access-date=31 August 2020|archive-date=16 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816131806/https://books.google.com/books?id=uarFTBpg11wC&pg=PA18|url-status=live}}</ref> The line, as slightly modified by the [[Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919]], was inherited by Pakistan in 1947, following its independence.

The Durand line cuts through to demarcate [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]], [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan]], and the contested region of [[Gilgit-Baltistan]] of northern and western Pakistan from the northeastern and southern [[provinces of Afghanistan]]. From a [[geopolitical]] and [[geostrategic]] perspective, it has been described as one of the most dangerous borders in the world.<ref name="Newsweek">{{cite web |url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/73137/page/1 |title=No Man's Land |quote=Where the imperialists' Great Game once unfolded, tribal allegiances have made for a "soft border" between Afghanistan and Pakistan—and a safe haven for smugglers, militants and terrorists |work=[[Newsweek]]|location=United States |date=1 February 2004|accessdate=11 February 2011|archive-date=8 April 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408113251/http://www.newsweek.com/id/73137/page/1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cfr.org/publication/14905/ |title=The Troubled Afghan-Pakistani Border |publisher=[[Council on Foreign Relations]] |first=Jayshree |last=Bajoria |date=20 March 2009 |accessdate=11 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525182142/http://www.cfr.org/publication/14905/ |archive-date=25 May 2010 |url-status=dead  }}</ref><ref name="DN">{{cite web |url=http://archives.dawn.com/2005/09/07/top16.htm |title=Japanese nationals not killed in Pakistan: FO |work=[[Dawn News]] |location=Pakistan |date=7 September 2005 |accessdate=11 February 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/06/24/the_worlds_most_dangerous_borders?page=0,3|title=The World's Most Dangerous Borders: Afghanistan and Pakistan|work=[[Foreign Policy]]|date=24 June 2011|accessdate=12 September 2012|first=Philip|last=Walker|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111231073015/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/06/24/the_worlds_most_dangerous_borders?page=0,3|archive-date=31 December 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Although the Durand Line is internationally recognized as the western border of Pakistan, it remains unrecognized in Afghanistan.<ref name="No change in stance on Durand Line">{{cite news|title=No change in stance on Durand Line: Faizi|url=http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2012/10/24/no-change-stance-durand-line-faizi|date=24 October 2012|access-date=11 April 2013|publisher=Pajhwok Afghan News|quote=But Afghanistan has never accepted the legitimacy of this border, arguing that it was intended to demarcate spheres of influence rather than international frontiers.|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510142126/http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2012/10/24/no-change-stance-durand-line-faizi |archive-date=10 May 2013}}</ref><ref name="FG">{{cite web|url=http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/cp72_grare_final.pdf|title=Carnegie Papers – Pakistan-Afghanistan Relations in the Post-9/11 Era|first=Frédéric|last=Grare|date=October 2006|access-date=11 February 2011|archive-date=8 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808152815/http://carnegieendowment.org/files/cp72_grare_final.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://thediplomat.com/2014/02/why-the-durand-line-matters/|title=Why the Durand Line Matters|last=Rahi|first=Arwin|publisher=The Diplomat|access-date=9 September 2017|archive-date=29 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190729145657/https://thediplomat.com/2014/02/why-the-durand-line-matters/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-v-micallef/afghanistan-and-pakistan_b_8590918.html|title=Afghanistan and Pakistan: The Poisoned Legacy of the Durand Line|last=Micallef|first=Joseph V.|date=21 November 2015|newspaper=Huffington Post|access-date=9 September 2017|archive-date=24 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024102621/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-v-micallef/afghanistan-and-pakistan_b_8590918.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7tDes7XwARMC&q=duran+line+international+recognition&pg=PT358|title=Afghanistan from the Cold War through the War on Terror |last=Rubin|first=Barnett R.|date= 2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0199970414|access-date=24 October 2020|archive-date=16 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816131806/https://books.google.com/books?id=7tDes7XwARMC&q=duran+line+international+recognition&pg=PT358|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Daoud Khan|Sardar Mohammed Daoud Khan]], former prime minister and president of Afghanistan, vigorously opposed the border and launched a propaganda war. However, Bhutto made a proposal in August 1976 that if Bhutto pardons the leaders of the [[National Awami Party]] then [[Daoud Khan]] must simultaneously announce that [[Afghanistan]] has no territorial claims on [[Pakistan]] and is prepared to recognise the Durand Line. Bhutto, however, also disclosed to American diplomats that he feared that the Afghans may go back on their word.<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1976STATE169397_b.html |title=Naim's Visit to Washington |date=1976-07-08 |publisher=Department of State |issue=1976STATE169397_b}}</ref> Following the second round of talks, Daoud publicly announced his willingness to recognise the border as part of the Afghan concession, however, the following negotiations were stalled after Bhutto was overthrown a year later and following the overthrow of Daoud Khan in 1978, the new [[People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan|PDPA]] government back to the hardline stance on the Durand Line claiming that Afghanistan's borders extended up until the [[Indus River]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cesaretti |first=Laura |last2=Qazizai |first2=Fazelminallah |date=2021-01-08 |title=On the Afghan-Pakistan Frontier, the Danger Is Never Over |url=https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/the-treacherous-frontier/ |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=New Lines Magazine |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Arnold |first=Anthony |title=Afghanistan's two-party communism: Parcham and Khalq |date=1983 |publisher=Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University |isbn=978-0-8179-7792-4 |series=Histories of ruling Communist parties |location=Stanford, Calif}}</ref><ref name="Rasanayagam 2005 64">{{cite book |last=Rasanayagam |first=Angelo |title=Afghanistan: A Modern History|page=[https://archive.org/details/afghanistan00ange/page/64 64]|year=2005|publisher=I.B. Tauris |url=https://archive.org/details/afghanistan00ange|url-access=registration|isbn=978-1850438571}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=ur Rahman|first=Hanif|date=December 2012|title=Pak-Afghan relations during Z.A. Bhutto Era: The dynamics of Cold War|url=http://www.nihcr.edu.pk/Latest_English_Journal/Jrnl%2033-2%20(2012)%20PDF/2.%20Pak-Afghan%20Relations,%20hanif%20khan.pdf|journal=Pakistan Journal of History and Culture|volume=XXXIII|pages=34–35|access-date=7 July 2019|archive-date=10 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200110135620/http://www.nihcr.edu.pk/Latest_English_Journal/Jrnl%2033-2%20(2012)%20PDF/2.%20Pak-Afghan%20Relations,%20hanif%20khan.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2017, amid cross-border tensions, former Afghan President [[Hamid Karzai]] said that Afghanistan will "never recognise" the Durand Line as the border between the two countries.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Siddiqui|first1=Naveed|title=Afghanistan will never recognise the Durand Line: Hamid Karzai|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1318594|access-date=9 September 2017|newspaper=Dawn|date=5 March 2017|archive-date=4 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804152337/https://www.dawn.com/news/1318594|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Historical background ==
{{more citations needed|section|date=November 2017}}<!--no citations in 4 paragraphs in intro portion and entire "Cultural impact" section-->
{{See also|European influence in Afghanistan|Military history of the North-West Frontier}}
[[File:Afghanistan region during 500 BC.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Arachosia]] and the [[Pakthas|Pactyans]] during the 1st millennium BC]]

The area through which the Durand Line runs has been inhabited by the [[list of indigenous peoples#Southwest Asia|indigenous]] Pashtuns<ref name="LoC">{{cite web |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Afghanistan.pdf |title=Country Profile: Afghanistan |publisher=[[Library of Congress Country Studies]] |date=August 2008 |access-date=11 February 2011 |archive-date=8 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408085103/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Afghanistan.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> since [[Ancient history|ancient times]], at least since 500 BC. The [[Greeks|Greek]] historian [[Herodotus]] mentioned a people called ''[[Pakhtas|Pactyans]]'' living in and around [[Arachosia]] as early as the 1st millennium BC.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.piney.com/Heredotus7.html |title=The History of Herodotus, Chapter 7 |publisher=piney.com |translator-first=George |translator-last=Rawlinson |access-date=11 February 2011 |archive-date=5 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205055843/http://www.piney.com/Heredotus7.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[list of Baloch tribes|Baloch tribes]] inhabit the southern end of the line, which runs in the [[Balochistan|Balochistan region]] that separates the ethnic [[Baloch people]].

[[Arabs|Arab]] [[Muslims]] conquered the area in the 7th century and introduced [[Islam]] to the Pashtuns. It is believed that some of the early Arabs also settled among the Pashtuns in the [[Sulaiman Mountains]].<ref name="Ferishta">{{cite web|url=http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=06901021&ct=10|title=History of the Mohamedan Power in India|author=[[Firishta|Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah]] (Firishta)|publisher=[[Packard Humanities Institute]]|work=Persian Literature in Translation|access-date=10 January 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211200506/http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=06901021&ct=10|archive-date=11 February 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> These Pashtuns were historically known as "Afghans" and are believed to be mentioned by that name in [[Arabic language|Arabic]] [[chronicle]]s as early as the 10th century.<ref name="Britannica">{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9012039/Balochi |title=Baloch |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] Online Version |access-date=11 February 2011 |archive-date=8 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080108175929/https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9012039/Balochi |url-status=live }}</ref> The Pashtun area (known today as the "[[Pashtunistan]]" region) fell within the [[Ghaznavids|Ghaznavid Empire]] in the 10th century followed by the [[Ghurid dynasty|Ghurids]], [[Timurid dynasty|Timurids]], [[Mughal Empire|Mughals]], [[Hotaki dynasty|Hotakis]], by the [[Durrani Empire|Durranis]], and thereafter the [[Sikh Empire|Sikhs]].<ref name="HF">{{cite web |url=http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsMiddEast/EasternAfghans.htm |title=Kingdoms of South Asia – Afghanistan (Southern Khorasan / Arachosia) |access-date=16 August 2010 |work=The History Files |archive-date=27 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327233450/https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsMiddEast/EasternAfghans.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Mortimer Durand.jpg|thumb|left|[[Mortimer Durand|Sir Henry Mortimer Durand]], British diplomat and civil servant in [[British India]]. The Durand Line is named in his honour.]]

In 1839, during the [[First Anglo-Afghan War]], [[company rule in India|British]]-led Indian forces invaded Afghanistan and initiated a war with the Afghan rulers. Two years later, in 1842, the [[Massacre of Elphinstone's Army|British were defeated]] and the war ended. The British again invaded Afghanistan in 1878, during the [[Second Anglo-Afghan War]]. The British decided to accept a new Amir who was a British opponent – [[Abdur Rahman Khan]] and the [[Treaty of Gandamak]] was signed in 1880. Afghanistan ceded control of various frontier areas to India. The British failed in their objective to maintain a British resident in Kabul but having attained their other geopolitical objectives, the British withdrew.

In 1893, Mortimer Durand was dispatched to [[Kabul]] by the Government of India to sign an agreement with Amir [[Abdur Rahman Khan]] for fixing the limits of their respective [[spheres of influence]] as well as improving diplomatic relations and trade. On 12 November 1893, the Durand Line Agreement was reached.<ref name="LoC-Smith"/> The two parties later camped at [[Parachinar]], a small town near [[Khost]] in Afghanistan, which is now part of the [[Federally Administered Tribal Areas]] (FATA) of Pakistan, to delineate the frontier.{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}}

From the British-Indian side, the camp was attended by Mortimer Durand and [[Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum]], [[Political officer (British Empire)|Political Agent]] [[Khyber Agency]] representing the [[Viceroy of India]] and [[Governor General of India]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}} The Afghan side was represented by [[Sahibzada Abdul Latif]] and a former governor of [[Khost Province]] in Afghanistan, [[Sardar Shireendil Khan]], representing Amir Abdur Rahman Khan.{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}} The original 1893 Durand Line Agreement was written in [[English language|English]], with translated copies in [[Dari (Eastern Persian)|Dari]].

The resulting agreement or treaty led to the creation of a new province called the [[North-West Frontier Province (1901–1955)|North-West Frontier Province]], now known as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province of Pakistan which includes FATA and the [[Frontier Regions]]. It also led to Afghanistan receiving Nuristan and Wakhan.

=== Demarcation surveys on the Durand Line ===
The initial and primary demarcation, a joint Indo-Afghan survey and mapping effort, covered {{convert|800|mi|km|order=flip}} and took place from 1894 to 1896. Detailed [[Topography|topographic]] maps locating hundreds of boundary demarcation pillars were soon published and are available in the [[Survey of India]] collection at the [[British Library]].<ref name="Sykes">{{cite web
 |url=https://archive.org/search.php?query=184%20AND%20mediatype%3Atexts
 |title=A History of Afghanistan, Vol. II
 |author=Brig.-Gen. Sir [[Percy Sykes]], K.C.I.E., C.B., C.M.G., Gold Medalist of the Royal Geographic Society
 |publisher= Macmillian & Co. Ltd.
 |location=London
 |date=1940
 |pages=182–188, 200–208
 |access-date=5 December 2009}}</ref>

The complete 20-page text of these detailed joint Indo-Afghan demarcation surveys is available in several sources.<ref name="Prescott">{{cite book
 |title=Map of Mainland Asia by Treaty
 |author=Prescott, J. R. V.
 |publisher=Melbourne University Press
 |location=Carlton, Victoria
 |isbn=978-0-522-84083-4
 |pages=182–208
 |author-link=John Robert Victor Prescott|year=1975
 }}</ref><ref name="Janjua">{{cite web
 |url         = http://edocs.nps.edu/npspubs/scholarly/theses/2009/Jun/09Jun_Janjua.pdf
 |title       = In the Shadow of the Durand Line; Security, Stability, and the Future of Pakistan and Afghanistan
 |author      = Muhammad Qaiser Janjua
 |publisher   = Naval Postgraduate School
|location=Monterrey, California
|date=2009
 |pages       = 22–27, 45
 |access-date  = 14 December 2009
|url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110720015319/http://edocs.nps.edu/npspubs/scholarly/theses/2009/Jun/09Jun_Janjua.pdf
 |archive-date = 20 July 2011
}}</ref>

In 1896, the long stretch from the [[Kabul River]] to China, including the Wakhan Corridor, was declared demarcated by virtue of its continuous, distinct watershed ridgeline, leaving only the section near the [[Khyber Pass]] to be finally demarcated in the treaty of 22 November 1921, signed by [[Mahmud Tarzi]], "Chief of the Afghan Government for the conclusion of the treaty" and "[[Henry Dobbs|Henry R. C. Dobbs]], Envoy Extraordinary and Chief of the British Mission to Kabul."<ref name="Prescott" />
A very short adjustment to the demarcation was made at [[Arundu]] (Arnawai) in 1933–34.<ref name=Hay/><ref name="Prescott"/>

===Cultural impact of the Durand Line===
{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2021}}
Shortly after demarcation of the Durand Line, the British began connecting the region on their side of the Durand Line to the [[North Western State Railway]]. Meanwhile, Abdur Rahman Khan conquered the [[Nuristanis]] and made them Muslims. Concurrently, Afridi tribesmen began rising up in arms against the British, creating a zone of instability between Peshawar and the Durand Line. Further, frequent skirmishes and wars between the Afghanistan and India starting in the 1870s made travel between [[Peshawar]] and [[Jalalabad]] almost impossible. As a result, travel across the boundary was almost entirely halted. Further, the British recruited tens of thousands of local Pashtuns into the [[British Indian Army|Indian Army]] and stationed them throughout India and southeast Asia. Exposure to India, combined with the ease of travel eastwards into [[Punjab]] and the difficulty of travel towards Afghanistan, led many Pashtuns to orient themselves towards the heartlands of [[British India]] and away from Kabul. By the time of Indian independence, political opinion was divided into those who supported a homeland for Muslim Indians in the shape of [[Pakistan]], those who supported reunification with Afghanistan, and those who believed that a united India would be a better option.

=== British Raj declares war on Afghanistan ===
{{further|Third Anglo-Afghan War}}

The Durand Line triggered a long-running [[controversy]] between the governments of Afghanistan and British India,<ref name="LoC-Smith"/> especially after the outbreak of the [[Third Anglo-Afghan War]] when Afghanistan's capital (Kabul) and its eastern city of [[Jalalabad]] were [[strategic bombing|bombed]] by the [[No. 31 Squadron RAF|No. 31]] and [[No. 114 Squadron RAF|No. 114 Squadrons]] of the British [[Royal Air Force]] in May 1919.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.national-army-museum.ac.uk/exhibitions/afghanistan/page4.shtml |title=The Road to Kabul: British armies in Afghanistan, 1839–1919 |publisher=[[National Army Museum]] |access-date=11 February 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101126035657/http://www.national-army-museum.ac.uk/exhibitions/afghanistan/page4.shtml |archive-date=26 November 2010 }}</ref><ref name="BL">{{cite web |url=http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelpregion/asia/afghanistan/afghanistancollection/1919to1928/sources1919to1928.html |title=Afghanistan 1919–1928: Sources in the India Office Records |quote=1919 (May), the outbreak of Third Anglo-Afghan War. British bomb Kabul and Jalalabad; |publisher=[[British Library]] |access-date=11 February 2011 |archive-date=16 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116111138/http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelpregion/asia/afghanistan/afghanistancollection/1919to1928/sources1919to1928.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Afghan rulers reaffirmed in the 1919, 1921, and 1930 treaties to accept the Indo-Afghan frontier.<ref name="WM">[http://www.afghanland.com/history/durrand.html End of Imaginary Durrand Line: North Pakistan belongs to Afghanistan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091216231305/http://www.afghanland.com/history/durrand.html |date=16 December 2009 }} by Wahid Momand</ref><ref name="Prescott"/><ref>Jeffery J. Roberts, The Origins of Conflict in Afghanistan (Westport, Conn: Praeger, 2003), p. 121.</ref>

{{blockquote|The Afghan Government accepts the Indo–Afghan frontier accepted by the late [[Habibullah Khan|Amir]]|Article V of the August 8, 1919 [[Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919|Treaty of Rawalpindi]]}}

{{blockquote|The two high contracting parties mutually accept the Indo-Afghan frontier as accepted by the Afghan Government under Article V of the Treaty concluded on August 8, 1919|Article II of the November 22, 1921 finalising of the Treaty of Rawalpindi}}

=== Territorial dispute between Afghanistan and British India ===
{{See also|Afghanistan–Pakistan relations|War in Afghanistan (1978–present)|Afghan civil war (disambiguation)<!--intentional link to DAB page-->}}
Pakistan inherited the 1893 agreement and the subsequent 1919 Treaty of Rawalpindi after the [[Partition of India|partition from the British India]] in 1947. There has never been a [[Formality|formal]] agreement or [[ratification]] between [[Islamabad]] and Kabul.<ref name="DTP">{{cite web |url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_1-2-2004_pg7_23 |title=Durand Line Treaty has not lapsed |work=[[Daily Times (Pakistan)|Daily Times]] |location=Pakistan |first=Khalid |last=Hasan |date=1 February 2004 |access-date=11 February 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606143303/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_1-2-2004_pg7_23 |archive-date=6 June 2011 }}</ref> Pakistan believes, and international convention under [[uti possidetis juris]] supports, the position that it should not require an agreement to set the boundary;<ref name="WM"/> courts in several countries around the world and the [[Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties|Vienna Convention]] have universally upheld via ''uti possidetis juris'' that binding bilateral agreements are "passed down" to successor [[Sovereign state|states]].<ref name = OAU-Cairo>Over 90% of present African nations signed both the [[Organisation of African Unity]] (OAU) charter and the 1964 Cairo Declaration, both of which "proclaimed the acceptance of colonial borders as the borders between independent states...through the legal principle of uti possidetis." {{cite web
 |url=http://www.paulhensel.org/Research/cmps07.pdf
 |title=Territorial Integrity Treaties and Armed Conflict over Territory
 |author=Hensel, Paul R.
 |publisher=Department of Political Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee
 |access-date=5 December 2009
|archive-date=27 July 2011
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727164749/http://www.paulhensel.org/Research/cmps07.pdf
 |url-status=live
 }}</ref> Thus, a [[Unilateralism|unilateral]] declaration by one party has no effect; boundary changes must be made bilaterally.<ref>Hensel, Paul R.; Michael E. Allison and Ahmed Khanani (2006) [http://mailer.fsu.edu/~phensel/garnet-phensel/Research/iowa06.pdf "Territorial Integrity Treaties, Uti Possidetis, and Armed Conflict over Territory."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615031212/http://mailer.fsu.edu/~phensel/garnet-phensel/Research/iowa06.pdf |date=15 June 2011 }} Presented at the Shambaugh Conference "Building Synergies: Institutions and Cooperation in World Politics," University of Iowa, 13 October 2006.</ref>

At the time of independence, the [[Indigenous peoples|indigenous]] Pashtun people<ref name="LoC" /> living on the border with Afghanistan were given only the choice of becoming a part either of [[India]] or Pakistan.<ref name="Newsweek"/> Further, by the time of the Indian independence movement, prominent Pashtun nationalists such as [[Abdul Ghaffar Khan]] and his [[Khudai Khidmatgar]] movement advocated a united India, and not a united Afghanistan – highlighting the extent to which infrastructure and instability together began to erode Pashtun self-identification with Afghanistan.<ref name="Arwin">{{cite news|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1353172|title=Would India and Afghanistan have had a close relationship had Pakistan not been founded?|work=Dawn|date=22 August 2017|accessdate=9 September 2017|first=Arwin|last=Rahi}}</ref> By the time of independence, popular opinion amongst Pashtuns was split amongst the majority who wished to join the newly formed state of Pakistan, and the minority who wished to become a part of the [[Dominion of India]]. When the idea of a united India failed, Ghaffar Khan pledged allegiance to Pakistan and started campaigning for the autonomy of Pakistan's Pashtuns.<ref name="Arwin"/>

On 26 July 1949, when [[Afghanistan–Pakistan relations|Afghan–Pakistan relations]] were rapidly deteriorating, a [[loya jirga]] was held in Afghanistan after a [[military aircraft]] from the Pakistan Air Force [[1949 Mughalgai raid|bombed a village on the Afghan side of the Durand Line]] in response to cross-border fire from the Afghan side. In response, the Afghan government declared that it recognised "neither the imaginary Durand nor any similar line" and that all previous Durand Line agreements were [[Void (law)|void]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+af0022) |title=The Pashtunistan Issue |publisher=Library of Congress Country Studies |location=United States |first=Craig |last=Baxter| author-link = Craig Baxter |year=1997 |access-date=11 February 2011 |archive-date=16 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130216071805/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+af0022%29 |url-status=live }}</ref> They also announced that the Durand ethnic division line had been imposed on them under [[coercion]]/[[duress]] and was a [[diktat]]. This had no tangible effect as there has never been a move in the [[United Nations]] to enforce such a declaration due to both nations being constantly busy in wars with their other neighbours (See ''[[Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts|Indo-Pakistani wars]] and [[War in Afghanistan (1978–present)|Civil war in Afghanistan]]''). In 1950 the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom]] held its view on the Afghan-Pakistan dispute over the Durand Line by stating:

{{blockquote|[[Government of the United Kingdom|His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom]] has seen with regret the disagreements between the Governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan about the status of the territories on the North West Frontier. It is His Majesty's Government's view that Pakistan is in international law the inheritor of the rights and duties of the old Government of India and of his Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom in these territories and that the Durand Line is the international frontier.<ref>Durand Line, 1956, p. 12.</ref>|[[Philip Noel-Baker, Baron Noel-Baker|Philip Noel-Baker]]|June 30, 1950}}

At the 1956 SEATO ([[Southeast Asia Treaty Organization]]) Ministerial Council Meeting held at [[Karachi]], capital of Pakistan at the time, it was stated:

{{blockquote|The members of the Council declared that their governments recognised that the sovereignty of Pakistan extends up to the Durand Line, the international boundary between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and it was consequently affirmed that the Treaty area referred to in Articles IV and VIII of the Treaty includes the area up to that Line.<ref>Durand Line, 1956, p. 13</ref>|SEATO|March 8, 1956}}

In June 1976, a summit was held between the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan which both sides made concessions, Pakistan publicly recognising the existence of the [[Pashtun question|Pashtunistan question]] which was a key part of Afghan foreign policy for decades, and the Afghans were willing to hold high-level bilateral talks without bringing up the subject regarding the fate of Wali Khan and his banned [[National Awami Party]] in [[Pakistan]] which the Pakistanis considered as "internal matters".<ref name=":0">[https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP08C01297R000100140003-5.pdf AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN: THE POLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DURAND LINE] (''www.cia.gov'')</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Historical Documents - Office of the Historian |url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76ve08/d22 |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=history.state.gov}}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Panoramic View of Village Borki Parachinar Kurram Agency.jpg|thumb|Borki, a village at the border, with [[Mount Sikaram]]'s peak in the background, the highest peak of the [[Spīn Ghar|White Mountains]]]]
The border is south of the [[Hindu Kush]], while its eastern end by China is in the [[Karakoram]] range. These are regions of extreme high elevation, hence much of the Durand Line is bounded by mountains. The [[Spīn Ghar]] (''White Mountains'') range is roughly in the middle of the Line. The western part of the Line meanwhile is lower and sparse, consisting of the [[Registan Desert]].

[[File:Kurram Agency of Pakistan from Paktia Border line (19923108).jpg|thumb|A view towards the border in Pakistan, taken in [[Paktia Province]] of Afghanistan]]
The highest peak, [[Noshaq]], is located along the border between two countries, while some of the highest peaks in the world, including [[K2]], are a short distance to the east of the Line's end on the Pakistani side.

The [[Kunar River]], [[Kabul River]], [[Kurram River]] and [[Gomal River]] all cross the Durand Line. At the very western end of the line is the [[Godzareh Depression]].

==Border regions==
The border is {{cvt|2611|km}} long. Twelve [[Provinces of Afghanistan|Afghan provinces]] are located along the border: Nimroz, Helmand, Kandahar, Zabul, Paktika, Khost, Paktia, Logar, Nangarhar, Kunar, Nuristan and Badakhshan.

[[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]], [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan]], and the [[Gilgit-Baltistan]] region of [[Pakistan]] share a border with the Durand Line.

==Border crossings and economy==
{{See also|List of Afghanistan–Pakistan border crossings}}
The two countries are major trade partners, and therefore the various border crossings are economically important for the wider region,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taliban-claims-control-key-afghan-border-crossing-with-pakistan-2021-07-14/ |title=Afghan Taliban seize border crossing with Pakistan in major advance |website=[[Reuters]] |date=14 July 2021 |access-date=23 July 2021 |archive-date=23 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723192242/https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taliban-claims-control-key-afghan-border-crossing-with-pakistan-2021-07-14/ |url-status=live |last1=Sediqi |first1=Abdul Qadir }}</ref> particularly the [[Torkham border crossing|Torkham]] and [[Khyber Pass]] that is also the main land connection between Central Asia and the [[Indian subcontinent]].

== Contemporary era ==
{{further|Afghanistan conflict (1978–present)|Soviet–Afghan War|Af-Pak|CIA activities in Afghanistan}}
[[File:Reagan sitting with people from the Afghanistan-Pakistan region in February 1983.jpg|thumb|Afghan mujahideen representatives with [[List of Presidents of the United States|President]] [[Ronald Reagan]] at the [[White House]] in 1983]]

During [[Operation Cyclone]], the ISI, with support and funding from the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) of the United States, recruited mujahideen militant groups on the Pakistani side of the Durand line to cross into Afghanistan's territory for missions to topple the [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan|Soviet-backed Afghan government]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://supportdanielboyd.wordpress.com/so-called-%E2%80%9Cterrorist-camps%E2%80%9D-in-1989-and-training/|title=So called "terrorist camps" (in 1989?) and training|work=Support Daniel Boyd's Blog|date=2 August 2009 |access-date=16 December 2009|archive-date=10 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090810092215/http://supportdanielboyd.wordpress.com/so-called-%E2%80%9Cterrorist-camps%E2%80%9D-in-1989-and-training/|url-status=live}}</ref> Afghanistan [[KHAD]] was one of two secret service agencies believed to have been conducting bombings in parts of the [[North-West Frontier Province (1901–55)|North West Frontier]] (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) during the early 1980s.<ref name="autogenerated1987">{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,963894-2,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110109171126/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,963894-2,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 January 2011 |magazine=Time |title=Pakistan Knocking at the Nuclear Door |date=30 March 1987 |access-date=24 May 2010}}</ref> U.S State Department blamed WAD (a [[KGB]]-created Afghan secret intelligence agency) for terrorist bombings in Pakistan's cities in 1987 and 1988.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/23/opinion/how-zia-s-death-helped-the-us.html?pagewanted=1 |work=The New York Times |title=How Zia's Death Helped the U.S |first1=Robert D. |last1=Kaplan |date=23 August 1989 |access-date=24 May 2010 |archive-date=15 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415104017/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/23/opinion/how-zia-s-death-helped-the-us.html?pagewanted=1 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/25/world/fbi-allowed-to-investigate-crash-that-killed-zia.html |work=The New York Times |title=F.B.I. Allowed to Investigate Crash That Killed Zia |first=Robert |last=Pear |date=25 June 1989 |access-date=24 May 2010 |archive-date=15 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415104016/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/25/world/fbi-allowed-to-investigate-crash-that-killed-zia.html |url-status=live}}</ref> It is also believed that Afghanistan's PDPA government supported the [[left-wing politics|leftist]] [[Al-Zulfiqar]] organization of Pakistan, the group accused of the 1981 hijacking of a [[Pakistan International Airlines]] plane from Karachi to Kabul.
[[File:Afghan Muja crossing from Saohol Sar pass in Durand border region of Pakistan, August 1985.png|thumb|upright|[[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]-funded and [[Inter-Services Intelligence|ISI]]-trained [[Afghan Mujahideen|mujahideen]] fighters crossing the Durand Line to fight the Soviet-backed [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan|Afghan government]] in 1985]]

After the collapse of the pro-Soviet Afghan government in 1992, Pakistan, despite Article 2 of the Durand Line Agreement which states "The Government of India will at no time exercise interference in the territories lying beyond this line on the side of Afghanistan", attempted to create a state friendly to Pakistan in Afghanistan prior to [[Taliban]] control according to [[US Special Envoy]] on Afghanistan [[Peter Tomsen]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/taliban/interviews/tomsen.html |title=Interview with Peter Tomsen |date=3 October 2006 |quote=President [[George H. W. Bush]]'s special envoy and ambassador to the Afghan resistance from 1989 to 1992 |publisher=[[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] [[Frontline (U.S. TV series)|Frontline]] |access-date=11 February 2011 |archive-date=5 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805084549/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/taliban/interviews/tomsen.html |url-status=live}}</ref> According to a summer 2001 report in ''[[The Friday Times]]'', even the Taliban leaders challenged the very existence of the Durand Line when former [[Minister of Interior (Afghanistan)|Afghan Interior Minister]] [[Abdur Razzaq (Taliban Interior Minister)|Abdur Razzaq]] and a delegation of about 95 Taliban visited Pakistan.<ref name="Roashan">[http://www.institute-for-afghan-studies.org/Contributions/Commentaries/DRRoashanArch/2001_08_11_unholy_durand_line.htm The Unholy Durand Line, Buffering the Buffer] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325161737/http://www.institute-for-afghan-studies.org/Contributions/Commentaries/DRRoashanArch/2001_08_11_unholy_durand_line.htm |date=25 March 2012}} by Dr. G. Rauf Roashan. 11 August 2001.</ref> The Taliban refused to endorse the Durand Line despite pressure from Islamabad, arguing that there shall be no borders among Muslims. When the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)|Taliban government]] was removed in late 2001, the [[President of Afghanistan|Afghan President]] [[Hamid Karzai]] also began resisting the Durand Line,<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/10/AR2009051001959.html "Pakistan's Ethnic Fault Line"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803132932/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/10/AR2009051001959.html |date=3 August 2017}} by Selig S. Harrison, ''[[The Washington Post]]''. 11 May 2009.</ref> and today the present [[Government of Afghanistan]] does not recognize Durand Line as its international border. No Afghan government has recognized the Durand Line as its border since 1947.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=2eNuAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA290 Natural Resources in Afghanistan: Geographic and Geologic Perspectives on Centuries of Conflict] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801035645/https://books.google.com/books?id=2eNuAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA290 |date=1 August 2020 }} By John F. Shroder. Elselvier, San Diego, California, USA. 2014. p290</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=admin interview with former President Hamid Karzai|title=We will respect Pashtuns' decision on Pashtunistan: Karzai|url=http://afghanistantimes.af/we-will-respect-pashtuns-decision-on-pashtunistan-karzai/|newspaper=Afghan Times|date=2 September 2016|quote="No one will recognize it. It cannot separate the nation. The line has not separated the nation."|access-date=7 September 2016|archive-date=7 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160907115215/http://afghanistantimes.af/we-will-respect-pashtuns-decision-on-pashtunistan-karzai/|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{blockquote|A line of hatred that raised a wall between the two brothers.|Hamid Karzai}}
[[File:Torkham, Afghanistan 2007-08-24 - Defense.gov News Photo 070824-A-0613R-005.jpg|thumb|left|A U.S. soldier at [[Torkham]] border crossing, 2007]]
The [[Afghan Geodesy and Cartography Head Office]] (AGCHO) depicts the line on their maps as a [[de facto]] border, including naming the "Durand Line 2310 km (1893)" as an "International Boundary Line" on their home page.<ref name=AGCHO>{{cite web |url=http://www.agcho.org/ |title=Afghan Geodesy and Cartography Head Office (AGCHO) |access-date=5 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100121182748/http://agcho.org/ |archive-date=21 January 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, a map in an article from the Pashtun-dominated [[Politics of Afghanistan|Government of Afghanistan]] not only refuses to recognise the Durand Line as the international border between the two countries, it claims that the Pashtun territories of Pakistan rightly belong to Afghanistan.<ref name="FG" /> The Durand Line Agreement makes no mention of a time limit, thus suggesting the treaty has no expiry date. In 2004, spokespersons of [[United States Department of State|U.S. State Department]]'s Office of the Geographer and Global Issues and British [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office]] also pointed out that the Durand Line Agreement has no mention of an expiry date.

{{blockquote|Recurrent claims that (the) Durand Treaty expired in 1993 are unfounded. Cartographic depictions of boundary conflict with each other, but Treaty depictions are clear.<ref name="DTP"/>|A spokesperson for U.S. State Department's Office of the Geographer and Global Issues}}

[[File:Senior frontier corps balochistan.jpg|thumb|300px|right|US [[Drug Enforcement Administration|DEA]] Administrator [[Karen Tandy|Karen P. Tandy]] with Pakistani [[Frontier Corps]] and government officials right in front of the Afghan-Pakistani border]]

Because the Durand Line divides the Pashtun and [[Baloch people]], it continues to be a source of tension between the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan.<ref name="Newsweek2">Newsweek, [http://www.newsweek.com/id/73137/page/2 No Man's Land – Neighbor's Interference] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010132807/http://www.newsweek.com/id/73137/page/2 |date=10 October 2008}}</ref> In August 2007, Pakistani politician and the leader of [[Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam]], [[Fazal-ur-Rehman (politician)|Fazal-ur-Rehman]], urged Afghanistan to recognise the Durand Line.<ref name="Dawn">''Dawn'' News, [http://www.dawn.com/2007/08/24/top6.htm Fazl urges Afghanistan to recognise Durand Line] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101030225032/http://www.dawn.com/2007/08/24/top6.htm |date=30 October 2010}}</ref> Press statements from 2005 to 2007 by former [[President of Pakistan|Pakistani President]] [[Pervez Musharraf|Musharraf]] calling for the building of a fence on the Durand Line have been met with resistance from numerous Pashtun political parties in Afghanistan.<ref>PAN, [https://archive.today/20120908122023/http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2007/01/03/pashtuns-both-sides-pak-afghan-border-show-opposition-fencing-plan ''Pashtuns on both sides of Pak-Afghan border show opposition to fencing plan''], 3 January 2007.</ref><ref>PAN, [https://archive.today/20120906143228/http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2007/01/10/more-protests-against-fencing ''More protests against fencing''], 10 January 2007.</ref><ref>PAN, [https://archive.today/20120906143228/http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2007/01/10/more-protests-against-fencing ''Fencing plan may defame Pakistan: Fazl''], 10 January 2007.</ref> Pashtun politicians in Afghanistan strenuously object to even the existence of the Durand Line border.<ref name="PAN">PAN, [http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2009/08/03/durand-line-not-legitimate-border-zoori ''Durand Line not a legitimate border: Zoori'']{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, 3 August 2009.</ref> In 2006 Afghan President Hamid Karzai warned that "[[Iran]] and Pakistan and others are not fooling anyone."

{{blockquote|If they don't stop, the consequences will be ... that the region will suffer with us equally. In the past we have suffered alone; this time everybody will suffer with us.... Any effort to divide Afghanistan ethnically or weaken it will create the same thing in the neighboring countries. All the countries in the neighborhood have the same ethnic groups that we have, so they should know that it is a different ball game this time.<ref name="FG" />|Hamid Karzai|February 17, 2006}}

Aimal Faizi, spokesman for the Afghan President, stated in October 2012 that the Durand Line is "an issue of historical importance for Afghanistan. The Afghan people, not the government, can take a final decision on it."<ref name="No change in stance on Durand Line" />

=== Recent border skirmishes ===
In July 2003, Pakistani and Afghan forces clashed over border posts. The Afghan government claimed that the Pakistani military established bases up to 600 meters inside Afghanistan in the Yaqubi area near bordering [[Mohmand District]].<ref name="globalsecurity">{{cite web |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2003/07/25-170703.htm|title=RFE/RL Afghanistan Report|author=John Pike |work=globalsecurity.org |access-date=30 January 2008|archive-date=23 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090523123740/http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2003/07/25-170703.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The Yaqubi and Yaqubi Kandao (Pass) area were later found to fall within Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://gnswww.nga.mil/geonames/GNS/index.jsp |title=Geonames Query Home Page |access-date=3 April 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070407223825/http://gnswww.nga.mil/geonames/GNS/index.jsp |archive-date=7 April 2007}} NGA Geonames database</ref> In 2007, Pakistan erected fences and posts a few hundred metres inside Afghanistan near the border-straddling bazaar of [[Angoor Ada]] in [[South Waziristan]], but the [[Afghan National Army]] quickly removed them and began shelling Pakistani positions.<ref name="globalsecurity" /> Leaders in Pakistan said the fencing was a way to prevent Taliban militants from crossing over between the two nations, but Afghan President Hamid Karzai believed that it is Islamabad's plan to permanently separate the Pashtun tribes.<ref>[http://news.monstersandcritics.com/southasia/news/article_1293995.php/Clash_erupts_between_Afghan_Pakistani_forces_over_border_fence Clash erupts between Afghan, Pakistani forces over border fence – South Asia<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123143833/http://news.monstersandcritics.com/southasia/news/article_1293995.php/Clash_erupts_between_Afghan_Pakistani_forces_over_border_fence |date=23 January 2013}}</ref> [[Special Forces (United States Army)|Special Forces]] from the [[United States Army]] were based at [[Shkin, Paktika|Shkin]], Afghanistan, seven kilometres west of Angoor Ada, from 2002.<ref>[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/fb_shkin.htm Fire Base Shkin / Fire Base Checo] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090807174810/http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/fb_shkin.htm |date=7 August 2009}}. Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved on 12 July 2013.</ref> In 2009, the [[International Security Assistance Force]] (ISAF) and American CIA began using [[unmanned aerial vehicle]]s from the Afghan side to hit terrorist targets on the Pakistani side of the Durand Line.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newkerala.com/news/fullnews-4285.html|title=NEWKERALA.COM for News, Information & Entertainment Stuff|author=NK|work=newkerala.com|access-date=5 December 2009|archive-date=20 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120211230/http://www.newkerala.com/news/fullnews-4285.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Inside the Afghan customs and border patrol station at Torkham.jpg|thumb|[[Afghan Border Police]] check travellers' passports at Torkham Gate in Nangarhar province]]

The border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan has long been one of the most dangerous places in the world, due largely to very little government control. It is legal and common in the region to carry guns, and [[assault rifle]]s and explosives are common.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/search/journey/tribaltheme.html |title=Pakistan's Tribal Areas |first=Kamran |last=Khan |publisher=PBS Frontline |access-date=11 February 2011 |archive-date=2 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130802032852/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/search/journey/tribaltheme.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Many forms of illegal activities take place, such as smuggling of [[weapon]]s, [[narcotic]]s, [[lumber]], [[copper]], [[gemstone]]s, [[marble]], [[vehicle]]s, and electronic products, as well as ordinary [[consumer]] goods.<ref name="Newsweek2"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.army.mil/article/22349/|title=Soldiers disrupt timber smuggling in Afghan province|author=Amber Robinson|date=9 June 2009|access-date=14 February 2013|archive-date=1 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101170004/http://www.army.mil/article/22349/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.dawn.com/2002/06/28/nat34.htm|title=Timber smuggling from Afghanistan on the rise|author=Abdul Sami Paracha|newspaper=Dawn|date=28 June 2002|access-date=14 February 2013|archive-date=1 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101132613/http://archives.dawn.com/2002/06/28/nat34.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.dawn.com/2005/12/19/nat28.htm|title=Six Pakistanis held in Afghanistan on timber smuggling charge|newspaper=Dawn|date=19 September 2005|access-date=14 February 2013|archive-date=1 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101132129/http://archives.dawn.com/2005/12/19/nat28.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/4721119-pakistan-suggests-curbs-to-end-smuggling-from-afghanistan|title=Pakistan suggests curbs to end smuggling from Afghanistan|date=30 November 2009|access-date=14 February 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101203051/http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/4721119-pakistan-suggests-curbs-to-end-smuggling-from-afghanistan|archive-date=1 November 2013}}</ref> Kidnappings and murders are frequent.<ref name="DN" />
Militants frequently cross the border from both sides to conduct attacks.<ref>The News.pk, [http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=8439&Cat=13 ''36 soldiers die in cross-border Chitral attack''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111116001626/http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=8439&Cat=13 |date=16 November 2011}}, 28 August 2011.</ref> In June 2011 more than 500 Taliban militants entered Upper Dir area from Afghanistan and killed more than 30 Pakistani security forces. Police said the attackers targeted a checkpost, destroyed two schools and several houses, while killing a number of civilians.<ref>[http://www.thefrontierpost.com/?p=69232 The Frontier Post, Pakistan, Peshawar] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120421183511/http://www.thefrontierpost.com/?p=69232 |date=21 April 2012}}. ''The Frontier Post''. Retrieved on 12 July 2013.</ref>

The governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan are both trying to extend the rule of law into the border areas. At the same time, the United States is reviewing the Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZ) [[Act of Congress|Act]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], which is supposed to help the economic status of the Pashtun and [[Baloch tribes]] by providing jobs to a large number of the population on both sides of the Durand Line border.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s496/show|title=S.496: Afghanistan and Pakistan Reconstruction Opportunity Zones Act of 2009 – U.S. Congress – OpenCongress|work=OpenCongress|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090718235449/http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s496/show|archive-date=18 July 2009}}</ref>

Much of the northern and central Durand line is quite mountainous, where crossing the border is often only practical in the numerous passes through the mountains. Border crossing is very common, especially among Pashtuns who cross to meet relatives or to work. The movement of people across the border has largely been unchecked or uncontrolled,<ref name="Newsweek2"/> although [[passport]]s and [[visa (document)|visas]] are at times checked at official crossings. In June 2011 the United States installed a [[biometrics|biometric]] system at the border crossing near [[Spin Boldak]], aimed at improving the security situation and blocking the infiltration of insurgents into southern Afghanistan.<ref>[http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/06/09/biometric-system-installed-spin-boldak Biometric system installed in Spin Boldak] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510154215/http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/06/09/biometric-system-installed-spin-boldak |date=10 May 2013}}. 9 June 2011.</ref>

Throughout June and into July 2011, Pakistan [[Chitral Scouts]] and local defence militias suffered deadly cross-border raids. In response the Pakistani military shelled some Afghan villages in Afghanistan's [[Nuristan Province|Nuristan]], [[Kunar Province|Kunar]], [[Nangarhar Province|Nangarhar]], and [[Khost Province|Khost]] provinces resulting in a number of Afghan civilians being killed.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/07/01/pakistan-fires-missiles-khost-say-border-police |title=Pakistan fires missiles into Khost, say border police |quote=Nearly a dozen missiles were fired from Pakistan into Afghanistan's southeastern Khost province over the past 24 hours, border police said on Friday. |date=1 July 2011 |publisher=[[Pajhwok Afghan News]] |access-date=6 July 2011 |archive-date=2 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111202001132/http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/07/01/pakistan-fires-missiles-khost-say-border-police |url-status=live}}</ref> Afghanistan's [[Ministry of Interior Affairs (Afghanistan)|Interior Ministry]] claimed that nearly 800 [[Surface-to-surface missile|rockets]] were fired from Pakistan, hitting civilian targets inside Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-karzai-shelling/afghanistan-wont-fire-back-on-pakistan-karzai-idUSTRE7642IH20110705|title=Afghanistan won't fire back on Pakistan: Karzai|last=Shalizi|first=Hamid|date=1 July 2011|access-date=6 July 2011|publisher=Reuters|archive-date=6 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306044409/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-karzai-shelling/afghanistan-wont-fire-back-on-pakistan-karzai-idUSTRE7642IH20110705|url-status=live}}</ref> The Afghan statement claimed that attacks by Pakistan resulted in the deaths of 42 Afghan civilians, including 30 men and 12 women and girls, wounded 55 others and destroyed 120 homes. Although Pakistan claimed it was an accident and just routine anti-Taliban operations, some analysts believe that it could have been a show of strength by Islamabad. For example, a senior official at the [[Council on Foreign Relations]] explained that because the shelling was of such a large scale, it was more likely a warning from Pakistan than an accident.<ref name=Nichols>{{cite web |url=https://news.yahoo.com/afghanistan-pakistan-coordinate-amid-cross-border-confusion-125326901.html|title=Afghanistan, Pakistan to coordinate amid cross-border confusion|publisher=Reuters |location=United States |first=Michelle |last=Nichols |date=7 July 2011|access-date=9 July 2011}}</ref>

{{blockquote|I'm speculating, but natural possibilities include a signal to Karzai and to (the United States) that we can't push Pakistan too hard.<ref name=Nichols/>|[[Stephen Biddle]]}}

The United States and other NATO states often ignored this sensitive issue, likely because of potential effects on their war strategy in Afghanistan. Their involvement could have strained relations and jeopardized their own national interests in the area.<ref name="FG" /> This came after the [[2011 NATO attack in Pakistan|November 2011 NATO bombing]] in which 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed.<ref>Tolo News, [http://tolonews.com/en/afghanistan/4635-terrorist-safe-havens-in-pakistan-must-go-joint-chiefs-head-says- "Terrorist Safe Havens in Pakistan Must Go, Joint Chiefs Head Says"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117145213/http://tolonews.com/en/afghanistan/4635-terrorist-safe-havens-in-pakistan-must-go-joint-chiefs-head-says- |date=17 January 2012}}. 10 December 2011.</ref> In response to that incident, Pakistan decided to cut off all NATO supply lines as well as boost border security by installing anti-aircraft guns and radars to monitor air activity.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/10/world/asia/pakistan-military/index.html?section=cnn_latest|title=Pakistan boosts border security after airstrike|author=Wire Staff|date=10 December 2011|publisher=CNN|access-date=11 December 2011|archive-date=5 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005033552/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/10/world/asia/pakistan-military/index.html?section=cnn_latest|url-status=live}}</ref> Regarding the Durand Line, some rival maps are said to display discrepancies of as much as five kilometres.<ref>{{Cite news |author=Boone, Jon |title=Nato air attack on Pakistani troops was self-defence, says senior western official |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/nov/26/nato-air-attack-pakistan-soldiers |work=[[The Observer]] |date=27 November 2011 |access-date=27 November 2011 |archive-date=1 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131001065741/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/nov/26/nato-air-attack-pakistan-soldiers |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Trench being built alongside the border===
In June 2016, Pakistan announced that it had completed 1,100&nbsp;km of trenches along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border (Durand Line) in [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan]] to check movement of terrorists and smugglers across border into Pakistan from Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Butt|first1=Qaiser|title=1,100km trench built alongside Pak-Afghan border in Balochistan|url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/1126353/1100km-trench-built-alongside-pak-afghan-border-balochistan/|access-date=9 September 2017|work=[[Express Tribune]]|date=20 June 2016|archive-date=9 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909234212/https://tribune.com.pk/story/1126353/1100km-trench-built-alongside-pak-afghan-border-balochistan/|url-status=live}}</ref> Plans to expand this trench/ berm/ fence work were announced in March 2017.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Gul|first1=Ayaz|title=Pakistan Begins Fencing of Afghan Border|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/pakistan-fencing-off-afghanistan-border/3781631.html|access-date=25 March 2017|publisher=[[Voice of America]]|date=25 March 2017|archive-date=25 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170325164043/http://www.voanews.com/a/pakistan-fencing-off-afghanistan-border/3781631.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The plans also included building 338 checkpoints and forts along the border by 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1327567|title=Former TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan has turned himself in: Pak Army|date=17 April 2017|website=Dawn|access-date=23 October 2017|archive-date=3 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903184930/https://www.dawn.com/news/1327567|url-status=live}}</ref>

===2017 border closure and reopening===
On 16 February, Pakistan closed the border crossings at [[Torkham]] and [[Wesh–Chaman border crossing|Chaman]] due to security reasons following the [[2017 Sehwan suicide bombing|Sehwan blast]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Pak. closes Afghan border crossing|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/pak-closes-afghan-border-crossing/article17327204.ece|access-date=21 March 2017|work=[[The Hindu]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=19 February 2017|archive-date=16 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816131810/https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/pak-closes-afghan-border-crossing/article17327204.ece|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Pak-Afghan border closed for indefinite period: ISPR|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/186754-Pak-Afghan-border-closed-for-indefinite-period-ISPR|access-date=21 March 2017|work=[[The News International]]|date=16 February 2017|archive-date=24 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224122142/https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/186754-Pak-Afghan-border-closed-for-indefinite-period-ISPR|url-status=live}}</ref> On 7 March, the border was reopened for two days to facilitate the return of people to their respective countries who had earlier crossed the border on valid visas. The decision was taken after repeated requests by Afghanistan's government to avert 'a humanitarian crisis'.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Mashal|first1=Mujib|title=Closed Afghan-Pakistani Border Is Becoming 'Humanitarian Crisis'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/05/world/asia/afghanistan-pakistan-border.html?_r=0|access-date=21 March 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=5 March 2017|archive-date=13 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913122131/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/05/world/asia/afghanistan-pakistan-border.html?_r=0|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=People throng Torkham as border reopens for two days|url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/1348712/throngs-people-pak-afghan-border-reopened-two-days/|access-date=21 March 2017|work=[[Express Tribune]]|date=7 March 2017|archive-date=22 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322202850/https://tribune.com.pk/story/1348712/throngs-people-pak-afghan-border-reopened-two-days/|url-status=live}}</ref> According to a Pakistani official, 24,000 Afghans returned to Afghanistan, while 700 Pakistanis returned to Pakistan, before the border was indefinitely closed again.<ref>{{cite news|title=Pakistan indefinitely closes Afghan border|url=http://www.skynews.com.au/news/world/mideast/2017/03/10/pakistan-indefinitely-closes-afghan-border.html|access-date=21 March 2017|publisher=[[Sky News]]|agency=[[Reuters]]|date=10 March 2017|archive-date=22 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322203009/http://www.skynews.com.au/news/world/mideast/2017/03/10/pakistan-indefinitely-closes-afghan-border.html|url-status=live}}</ref> On 20 March, Pakistani Prime Minister [[Nawaz Sharif]] ordered the reopening of Afghanistan–Pakistan border as a "goodwill gesture", 32 days after it was closed.<ref>{{cite news|title=Pakistani prime minister orders the reopening of border with Afghanistan, ending costly closure|url=http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-pakistan-afghanistan-border-20170320-story.html|access-date=21 March 2017|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=20 March 2017|archive-date=28 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328100328/http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-pakistan-afghanistan-border-20170320-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Afzaal|first1=Ali|title=Pak-Afghan border reopens after 32 days|url=https://www.geo.tv/latest/135032-Pak-Afghan-border-reopens-at-PMs-behest|access-date=21 March 2017|work=[[Geo News]]|date=21 March 2017|archive-date=21 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321082936/https://www.geo.tv/latest/135032-Pak-Afghan-border-reopens-at-PMs-behest|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 5 May, following an [[2017 Afghanistan–Pakistan border skirmish|attack on Pakistani census team]] by Afghan forces and the resulting exchange of fire between the two sides, the border was closed again.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/05/firing-afghanistan-pakistan-border-census-team-kills-civilian-170505070934446.html |title=Pakistan-Afghanistan crossing closed after border clash |work=[[Al Jazeera English]] |date=7 May 2017 |access-date=7 May 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170507050745/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/05/firing-afghanistan-pakistan-border-census-team-kills-civilian-170505070934446.html |archive-date=7 May 2017}}</ref>

Pakistan's decision to close the border was to force Afghanistan to take action against militant groups who were using Afghanistan's soil to carry out cross-border attacks against Pakistan.<ref name=VOA12>{{cite news|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/closed-pakistan-afghan-border-causes-pain-trade-losses/3744162.html|title=Closed Pakistan-Afghan Border Causes Pain, Trade Losses|access-date=28 February 2017|publisher=Voice of America|author=Zabiullah Ghazi|archive-date=1 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301021607/http://www.voanews.com/a/closed-pakistan-afghan-border-causes-pain-trade-losses/3744162.html|url-status=live}}</ref> An Afghan diplomat at the [[World Trade Organization]] (WTO) claimed that Afghanistan suffered a loss of 90 million U.S. dollars as a result of closure of border by Pakistan.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.firstpost.com/world/pakistan-closes-durand-line-causes-90-mn-trade-loss-for-afghanistan-3381260.html|title=Pakistan closes Durand Line, causes $90 mn trade loss for Afghanistan|access-date=12 April 2017|publisher=FirstPost|author=Sheerupa Mitra|archive-date=12 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170412224950/http://www.firstpost.com/world/pakistan-closes-durand-line-causes-90-mn-trade-loss-for-afghanistan-3381260.html|url-status=live}}</ref> On 27 May 2017, Pakistan reopened the border after a request from Afghan authorities, marking the end of the border closure that lasted 22 days.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1335758/pakistan-opens-chaman-border-crossing-on-humanitarian-grounds-after-22-days|title=Pakistan opens Chaman border crossing on 'humanitarian grounds' after 22 days|first=Naveed|last=Siddiqui|work=Dawn|date=28 May 2017|access-date=28 May 2017|archive-date=27 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170527144235/https://www.dawn.com/news/1335758/pakistan-opens-chaman-border-crossing-on-humanitarian-grounds-after-22-days|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Border barrier==
{{Main|Afghanistan–Pakistan border barrier}}
Pakistan has been constructing a [[border barrier]] since 2017 to prevent [[terrorism]], [[drug trafficking]], [[Afghan refugees in Pakistan|refugees]], [[illegal immigration]], [[smuggling]] and infiltration across the Durand Line.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/2/25/the-pak-afghan-border-fence-is-a-step-in-the-right-direction|title=Pakistan-Afghanistan border fence, a step in the right direction|date=25 February 2021|accessdate= 7 January 2022|work=[[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al Jazeera]]}}</ref> According to [[Pakistan]] the barrier is also necessary to block the infiltration of militants across the border.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.irinnews.org/feature/2003/10/30/focus-bilateral-border-dispute|title=Focus on bilateral border dispute|date=30 October 2003|website=IRIN|language=en|access-date=15 March 2019|archive-date=16 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190316230729/http://www.irinnews.org/feature/2003/10/30/focus-bilateral-border-dispute|url-status=live}}</ref> As of January 2019, 900&nbsp;km has been completed.<ref>{{Cite AV media|last=Al Jazeera English|title=🇵🇰 'Trump-style wall': Pakistan building wall on Afghan border|date=29 January 2019|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u99zxKUrzyM|access-date=15 March 2019|via=[[YouTube]]|archive-date=7 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007064706/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u99zxKUrzyM&list=PUNye-wNBqNL5ZzHSJj3l8Bg&index=195|url-status=live}}</ref> The Durand Line is marked by 235 crossing points, many of which had been susceptible to illegal immigration. The project is predicted to cost at least $532&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloombergquint.com/politics/the-fence-driving-a-wedge-between-pakistan-and-afghanistan|title=The Fence Driving a Wedge Between Pakistan and Afghanistan|website=BloombergQuint|date=31 October 2017 |access-date=15 March 2019|archive-date=30 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730041919/https://www.bloombergquint.com/politics/the-fence-driving-a-wedge-between-pakistan-and-afghanistan|url-status=live}}</ref>

As of 21 January 2022 the interior minister of Pakistan stated that only 20&nbsp;km of fencing remains and it will be completed soon.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nation.com.pk/21-Jan-2022/2680kms-fencing-along-pak-afghan-border-completed-sh-rashid-tells-senate |title=2680kms fencing along Pak-Afghan border completed, Sh Rashid tells Senate |website=nation.com.pk |access-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121082348/https://nation.com.pk/21-Jan-2022/2680kms-fencing-along-pak-afghan-border-completed-sh-rashid-tells-senate |archive-date=21 January 2022 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Afghanistan|Pakistan}}
* [[Af-Pak]]
* [[Afghanistan–Pakistan border skirmishes]]
* [[Afghanistan–Pakistan Confederation plan]]
* [[Afghanistan–Pakistan relations]]
* [[Flag of Hazaristan]]
* [[Hazara nationalism]]
* [[Khyber Pass Economic Corridor]]
* [[Noshaq]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}{{Notelist}}

== Further reading ==
*  Dogra, R. (2019) ''Durand's Curse: A Line Across the Pathan Heart'', Rupa: New Delhi. {{ISBN|978-8129148643}}
* {{cite journal |title=Special Issue: The Durand Line |url=http://asianstudies.arnold-bergstraesser.de/vol-44-heft-issue-1-2-may-2013-special-issue-the-durand-line |date=May 2013 |journal=[[International Quarterly for Asian Studies|Internationales Asienforum]] |volume=44|issue=1–2}}

{{commons category|Durand Line}}
{{wikisource|Durand Line Agreement}}
* [http://www.afghanic.de/images/Docs/Durand%20Line%20Agreement.pdf Text of the Durand Line Agreement, 12 November 1893] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516124823/http://www.afghanic.de/images/Docs/Durand%20Line%20Agreement.pdf |date=16 May 2018 }}
* [https://www.efsas.org/publications/study-papers/the-durand-line-a-razors-edge-between-afghanistan-and-pakistan/ A detailed study paper by the European Foundation for South Asian Studies]
* [https://archives.ungeneva.org/exchange-of-notes-between-the-government-of-great-britain-and-afghanistan-in-regard-to-the-boundary-between-india-and-afghanistan-in-the-neighbourhood-of-arnawai-and-dokalim-kabul-3-february-1934 1934 Afghanistan & Britain exchange of treaty notes, borders in the neighbourhood of Arnawai and Dokalim]
* [http://www.valleyswat.net/literature/papers/The_Durand_Line_Agreement.pdf The Durand Line Agreement (1893): Its Pros and Cons]
* [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03068370902871508 "The Durand Line: History and Problems of the Afghan-Pakistan Border"] Bijan Omrani, published in ''Asian Affairs'', vol. 40, Issue 2, 2009.
* [http://www.bijanomrani.com/?p=Rethinking%20the%20Durand%20Line "Rethinking the Durand Line: The Legality of the Afghan-Pakistan Border"], published in the RUSI Journal, Oct 2009, Vol. 154, No. 5
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080408113251/http://www.newsweek.com/id/73137/page/1 No Man's Land – Where the imperialists' Great Game once unfolded, tribal allegiances have made for a "soft border" between Afghanistan and Pakistan{{snd}}and a safe haven for smugglers, militants and terrorists]
* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/29/AR2008032902213.html? Culture, Politics Hinder U.S. Effort to Bolster Pakistani Border], ''[[The Washington Post]]'' 30 March 2008
* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/03/AR2008040304029.html? "Border Complicates War in Afghanistan"], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', 4 April 2008

{{Borders of Afghanistan}}
{{Borders of Pakistan}}
{{Afghanistan–Pakistan relations}}
{{Pashtun nationalism}}

[[Category:Durand Line| ]]
[[Category:Afghanistan–Pakistan border| ]]
[[Category:Afghanistan–Pakistan relations|border]]
[[Category:1893 establishments in Afghanistan]]
[[Category:1893 establishments in British India]]
[[Category:1893 in international relations]]
[[Category:History of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]]
[[Category:Modern history of Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Eponymous border lines]]
[[Category:Great Game]]
[[Category:International borders]]
[[Category:Borders of Afghanistan|Pakistan]]
[[Category:Borders of Pakistan|Afghanistan]]
[[Category:History of Balochistan]]
[[Category:Territorial disputes of Pakistan]]