While both Pakistan and Afghanistan know the importance of peace after more than three decades of extreme instability in the region, the controversies that have surrounded the Durand Line — whether it should be converted into a permanent border or not, and later, whether it should be fenced or not — have been highly touchy subjects that have never been fully resolved. The Durand Line agreement, signed between British India and Afghanistan in 1893, ran into trouble soon after Partition, with legal, territorial, economic, ethnographic, military and geopolitical issues arising on both sides. More recently, with the US invasion of Afghanistan, the term ‘porous borders’ started being used to explain the regional conflict and more often than not, to shift the blame on Pakistan for the problem of militancy being experienced in Afghanistan. In this regard, former president Pervez Musharraf’s efforts to control cross-border infiltration by fencing the Pakistan-Afghanistan border stirred up strong emotions in Afghanistan.
What cannot be denied is the serious problem that both countries face in the form of militancy and the role that the porous border has played in exacerbating it severely, and hence the talk on the Pakistani side of building a fence along it. There is little evidence that the new Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s opinion on this issue will vary from that of his predecessors. However, with newly emerging geopolitical realities in the region after the US withdrawal, as well as the fear of the rise of the Afghan Taliban and the emergence of transnational jihadist ideologies, the Durand Line issue and whether it should be fenced or not, is definitely one that needs some resolution. While it would be extremely difficult to fence the entire border, both in practical terms and keeping in view the extreme passions that such a step may arouse, some sort of consensus needs to be built among all stakeholders regarding a realistic solution that respects the opinions of the tribes on both sides, as well as both governments. “Frontiers are the chief anxieties of nearly every foreign office in the civilised world,” Lord Curzon, the viceroy of India, once said. And while currently anxiety remains high on both sides, mainly because of mistrust, real progress will only follow once that ends.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 14th, 2014.
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COMMENTS (10)
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Looks like the concept of strategic depth is turned on its head. Afghanistan seems to be building strategic depth in Pakistan
If its all peaceful then there is no need to fence the border as we see in several european countries. Fencing is necessary to eliminate blames from both sides that militants cross into each others territory and carry out attack and go back freely.
We definitely need to consider the communities living on both sides of the border, fencing along with many regulated crossing points can be arranged. So movement can be free and monitored as well. This will acceptable to both sides and families living across the borders.
Core issue is sincerity on both sides to bring peace to this region as only losers are Pakistan and Afghanistan in this dirty games played by several players! Pakistan and Afghanistan need to sit and resolve all the issues mutually without any intervention from India, US or others.
@Ghaleem: All of that is possible with visas and border checkposts, we can still build a fence.
The picture of Pak-Afghan border above, gives a feeling of adventure - something exotic, other, we've been reading in history and geography books, here in India.
Wish I could partake the adventure of driving/biking through the treacherous passes... But alas given the messed up relations between India-Pak, Pak-Afghanistan and the turmoil in Pak, this would not be possible..
ET - Please publish...
@stery
@stery
Today Afghan president is visiting Pakistan as per
pakistani officials requests in order to normalise
the two country's relationship. Such negative and
insulting comments towards Afghans is not tolerated
and doesn't help any one as well as may show mindset
of some pakistanis towards Afghans.
When millions of Afghans entered into pakistan they
were not poor to begin with or infected with any
kind of sickness cause let me remind you that
Afghanistan was a prosper country around that time
wasn't a destroyed country - thanks to jihadist and
their masters!
Of course warm welcome by Pakistan people will be
remembered and appreciated forever - it is
ungratefull to forget that how they shared things
with Afghans and helped Afghans.
After arrival of millions of Afghans to Pakistan,
ocean of dollar flown into pakistan to help these
Afghans.
The amount of aid Pakistan received for the
Afghans sake counts up to $80 billion just up to
1992.
None of those Afghans had any problems of illness or
disorder but of course after spending few years in
refugees camps in pakistani they got those problems
so thanks to pakistani authorities those who managed
those funds, unfortunately for Afghans and
fortunately for Pakistan that money was spent on
pakistan's infrastructure and Nuk and other military
projects.
Coming to the point of khayrat frankly speaking at
some point we are all living of khayrat from west
and pakistan since its creation has been living of
western aids ( you call it khayrat) please be a man
and refuse accepting that khayrat I would salute
you! Once you do that then your comments make more
sense cause at the moment it doesn’t reflect
pakistanis values at all.
Afghanis are welcome with business or visit visas after proving their need to go back. We don't need people with guns and drugs crossing over
@Ghaleem: I will help your limited understanding. Millions of Afghans and Pakistanis citizens can cross this 'Berlin Wall' via manned border crossing, not via valleys and trenches holding guns, drugs and cash. This should allay your cosmetic concerns for the Pashtun tribes, with whom, I'm sure you have had no interaction or care for them, as the Afghan govt. is presently waging a war against them in the south of the country.
My understanding was that the talk of bordor fencing was more of a rhetorical ploy in response to Afghan and American allegations that Pakistan was either unwilling or unable to stop militants from its side who were carrying out attacks in Afghanistan. Otherwise, had they been serious about this, there would at least have been a feasibility study for fencing the bordor by now.
We can understand Indian having fence on Pak Indian borders. But it is hard to understand fencing Durand Line, which divides Pashtun tribes, homes, mosques & graveyards. Make it Berlin Wall & it will fall one day. The Clock is ticking & in this region even family feuds last longer than 100 years. So we have a choice. either make the Durand Line irrelevant with trade, Commerce & people to people contacts or let the military generals make it play game & result in Taliban or IS country between Kabul & Islamabad.