Abstract
Pakistan and Afghanistan are immediate neighbors having 2240 km common border formally known as Durand Line. Despite shared geography, ethnicity and faith, relations with Afghanistan have never been smooth. Rather, they have been a painful. With the Indian threat looming from the East, Afghanistan’s hostile attitude has added further in the fragile security environment challenging the very existence of Pakistan. Ian Stephon termed such a security scenario enveloping simultaneously from the East and the West as a ‘pincer movement’ aiming to crush still born Pakistan.1 A secure and friendly North-Western border has always been Pakistan’s desire and security requirement vis-à-vis India which, could never get materialized because of Afghanistan’s hostile attitude. With the sole exception of the four years of Taliban rule (1997-2001) over Afghanistan, successive governments in Kabul have displayed varying degrees of disaffection towards Islamabad.2 Issues of Pakhtoonistan and Durand line, are at the heart of such hostile/ unfriendly attitude and antagonistic relations, resulted from Afghanistan’s ambitions over certain areas in the North West of Pakistan that, for a brief period, remained part of territories conquered by Ahmad Shah Abdali from1747 to 1773.3 This article relates to Durand Line. Our aim is to trace out its history & examine its future prospects.
Mohib Ullah Durani, , Ashraf Khan. (2009) Pakistan - Afghan Relations: Historic Mirror, The Dialogue, Volume 4, Issue 1.
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