Durand Line

The Durand Line is the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is about 2,600 km long and runs from the Iran border in the south-west to the China border in the north-east. It was drawn by British India and the ruler of Afghanistan in 1893. Pakistan treats it as a settled international border. Afghanistan has never formally accepted it since Pakistan was created in 1947.

Why was the line drawn?

In the 19th century, two empires were competing for control of Central Asia: the British Empire (ruling India) and the Russian Empire. This rivalry is called the Great Game. The British wanted Afghanistan to act as a buffer state, a neutral zone between British India and Russia. To do this, they needed a clear line showing where British India ended and where Afghanistan began. A fixed border also helped the British control the hill tribes of the frontier.

How was it created?

On 12 November 1893, Sir Mortimer Durand, the Foreign Secretary of British India, signed an agreement with Amir Abdur Rahman Khan, the ruler of Afghanistan, in Kabul. The line is named after Durand. A joint survey marked much of it on the ground between 1894 and 1896. The section near the Khyber Pass was finally fixed in 1921, with a minor change at Arundu in 1933-34.

How did Afghanistan accept it later?

After the Third Anglo-Afghan War, the Treaty of Rawalpindi (8 August 1919) was signed. In it, Afghanistan accepted the Indo-Afghan frontier. Afghanistan again accepted the border in treaties of 1921 and 1930. So, under British rule, successive Afghan rulers accepted the line in writing.

Why does Afghanistan reject it now?

Afghanistan's objections are mainly these:

• It divides the Pashtun people. The Pashtuns (also called Pathans) are one ethnic group living on both sides. The line cut through their villages, tribes and even families. Afghan rulers see this as unfair.
• It was signed under pressure. Kabul argues the 1893 agreement was forced on a weak ruler by a powerful empire.
• It was a deal with British India, not Pakistan. Afghanistan argues that when the British left in 1947, the deal ended too.

In 1947, Afghanistan was the only country to vote against Pakistan joining the United Nations. On 26 July 1949, an Afghan grand council, called a loya jirga, declared that it did not recognise the Durand Line or any similar line. Afghanistan also backed the idea of "Pashtunistan", a homeland for Pashtuns that would include Pakistan's Pashtun areas. Every Afghan government since then, including the Taliban, has refused to recognise the line.

What is Pakistan's position?

Pakistan says it inherited the border from British India. In international law, this idea is called uti possidetis juris: a new country keeps the borders its territory had at the time of independence. Most of the world accepts the Durand Line as the border. For example, the UK government affirmed it as an international frontier in 1950. The SEATO alliance recognised Pakistan's sovereignty up to the line in 1956.

The geography of the line

On the Pakistani side, the line touches Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan. On the Afghan side, it touches 12 provinces, from Nimroz and Helmand in the south to Badakhshan in the north. In the far north-east, Afghanistan's thin Wakhan Corridor reaches up to China. The British created this narrow strip in the 1890s so that British India and Russia would not touch each other.

The main crossing points for people and trade are Torkham (near the Khyber Pass, on the Peshawar-Kabul road) and Chaman (in Balochistan, on the Quetta-Kandahar road).

Pakistan's border fence

Pakistan began fencing the line in 2017. It says the fence is meant to stop militants, smugglers and drug traffickers. By 2023, most of the border (about 98%) was fenced. The Taliban government has objected to the fence, and its soldiers have at times pulled parts of it down. Border posts, the fence and closures of Torkham and Chaman are frequent flashpoints.

Why does it matter to India?

India's official maps show all of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including Gilgit-Baltistan (under Pakistan's illegal occupation), as Indian territory. Gilgit-Baltistan touches the Wakhan Corridor. So, by India's position, India shares a 106 km border with Afghanistan. Also, unrest on the Durand Line affects India's security and India's trade routes. Because Pakistan often blocks land transit, India uses the Chabahar port in Iran to reach Afghanistan.

Commonly confused concepts

• Durand Line vs Radcliffe Line vs McMahon Line: The Durand Line (1893) separates Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Radcliffe Line (1947) separates India from Pakistan and Bangladesh. The McMahon Line (1914, Simla Convention) is the India-China boundary in the east that China does not accept.
• Durand Line vs Line of Control (LoC): The Durand Line is a formal border, even if Afghanistan disputes it. The LoC in Jammu and Kashmir is only a ceasefire line; it is not an international border.
• Wakhan Corridor vs Khyber Pass: The Wakhan Corridor is a thin strip of Afghan land in the far north-east, touching China. The Khyber Pass is a mountain pass in the middle section, linking Peshawar and Kabul.

Issues, criticism and the way forward

• Divided people: The line cuts across Pashtun tribes, so trade, marriage and family visits cross it daily. Fences and closures hurt ordinary border communities.
• Safe havens: Rough, mountainous ground makes the border hard to guard. Armed groups use it to move between the two countries.
• Trade losses: Frequent closures at Torkham and Chaman stop trucks for days or weeks. Afghanistan is landlocked (it has no coastline) and depends heavily on routes through Pakistan.
• No agreed legal basis: Because Kabul rejects the line, the two sides lack a shared border management system. Experts suggest joint border mechanisms, easier crossing rules for tribes, and talks through regional mediators.

Concepts to Know

• Buffer state: A neutral country placed between two rival powers so that they do not share a border and clash directly.
• Pashtuns: A large ethnic group living in southern and eastern Afghanistan and north-western Pakistan. They speak Pashto.
• Loya jirga: A traditional Afghan "grand assembly" of tribal elders and leaders, used to decide big national questions.
• Uti possidetis juris: A rule of international law. It means a newly independent country keeps the borders its territory had under the old ruler.
• Landlocked country: A country with no coastline. It must use a neighbour's land or ports for sea trade.