By Minahil Shawal Afridi
Durand Line and its bordermanagementhaveremained one of the most pressingissues between Pakistanand Afghanistan. The unresolved historical roots of the Durand Line problem have not only soured the bilateral relations between the two neighbors by heightening their distrust of each other but also posed several security challenges for Pakistan. Keeping in view the dire need for effectivemaintenance and management of the Pak-Afghan Border, the installation of security fence along the Durand Lineis a key steptaken by the government of Pakistan.
Every border management strategy is concerned with addressing certain perpetual fears including primarily the security challenges and secondly the economic crises and political dynamics. The Durand Line, which was enacted by the British authorities in 1893,demarcated the border between the then British India and Afghanistan. Since its demarcation, the linebecame the source of controversy for dividing communities as well as the territories that remained under British sovereignty but outside of its colonial administration.
After the independence of Afghanistan in 1919, the Durand line was accepted as its de facto border with British India. However, when Pakistan became an independent state in 1947, the Pakistani government declared the Durand Line as the international border with Afghanistan. The successive Afghan governments on the other hand refusedto recognizethe line as the official border, thereby, making the situation complex betweennot only the two countries but also within the territoriesof Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province of Pakistan.
Kabul’s objection constituted of its reservations on the Pashtun regions joining Pakistan which they argued should have become part of Afghanistan or the larger ‘Pukhtoonistan’. The Afghan leaders deemed Durand Line as illegitimate and claimed thatBritish authorities had coerced them into accepting the agreement. Since then, this British legacy has plaguedPak-Afghan relations.The issue has thusresulted increating large-scale security concerns for Pakistan since its inception, as the tribal areas adjacent to the Pak-Afghan frontier became a major transit route for extensive smuggling and a haven for the terrorist outfits and militant groups to conduct cross-border attacks and terrorism activities.
Most importantly, the alarming rise in violent incidents on both sides of Pak-Afghan border has drastically impacted the Afghanistan peace process.Hence, the border fencing is highly significant in view of the expected withdrawal of the US troops from Afghanistan which would increase the likelihood of escalation of the intra-Afghan violence.There is no doubt that the border fencing will contribute significantly in improving the security situation in both countries. It will also systematically enhance the bilateral diplomatic relations as well as security and economic cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan in near future.
The Risks and Challenges Emanating from Porous Pak-Afghan Border: The Durand Line runs through a rugged and barren mountainous region thus making it highly convoluted.Moreover, the Afghan authorities and security forces have always been nearly non-existent in the border area. Afghanistan’s open border policy regarding the Durand Line has posed alarming security and insurgency challenges to Pakistan. Kabul’s stance over the Pak-Afghan frontier and reservations over the fencing has continued, however, the Afghan leaders need to realize that this would threaten the security in both the countries. There have been continuous cross-border smuggling, trafficking,and illegal immigrant movements due to the largely porous border and this frontier has become aland bridge for the criminal and the terrorist networks operating in the region.
The Pashtun majority tribal areas on both sides of thePak-Afghan border have remained under-developed, troubled and economically unstable due to several factors including terrorism, recurrent foreign interventions, economic victimization, ethnic unrest, and so forth. This has been further fueled by misperceptions and unprincipled conduct of theglobaland regional players, and the non-state actors. Consequently, the Pashtun tribes along the Durand lineare left conservative, underprivileged, illiterate, and unemployed. This has not only induced a sense of deprivation and mistrust among them but also promoted the menacing gun culture and other illegal, criminal,and insurgent activities.
–The writer is Research Executive, Center for Global & Strategic Studies (CGSS), Islamabad
