Editor’s Note
The Pakistan-Afghanistan border has been violent for a long time now. The much-anticipated peace has not descended on the borders, post Taliban’s rise to power in Kabul. Further, with a confrontationist attitude being displayed by both parties, no solution is feasible, perhaps. Centuries of free movement across the Durand Line cannot be wished away by suddenly imposing passports and visas. All the more so when one of the parties concerned does not recognise the line itself.
Pakistani and Afghan security forces recently clashed at the border after the Afghan Taliban attempted to build a checkpost in the Zazi district of Khost province in eastern Afghanistan. However, there were no casualties on either side. The clash occurred after Afghan border forces began building a checkpoint, and Pakistani forces opened fire to stop the construction.
Earlier, in August, Torkham, a key border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan, was closed for three days following skirmishes between their forces. The Torkham border connects Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province and is a key crossing between the two. As per Michael Kugelman, director of South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center, USA, the situation is alarming since sporadic clashes between troops at the Pakistan-Afghan border have been ongoing for a long time, with no respite in sight. Islamabad accuses “Afghan-based” Tehrik-e Taliban (TTP) militants of carrying out terrorist attacks inside Pakistan, while Kabul denies the allegation that its soil is being used against Pakistan!
Chaman–Spin Boldak Unrest: A Border Crisis Re-ignites
In November 2023, Pakistan announced a ban on cross-border travel to and from Afghanistan. Residents of Chaman district (in Pakistan) immediately protested against this decree, which now made it mandatory for people passing the Spin Boldak–Chaman crossing to produce visas and passports. Until now, Afghans and Pakistanis could cross this border by showing their identity cards. During the nine months of protests, nearly 40 protesters were arrested, and 28, including 17 security personnel, were injured.
Later, in June 2024, another restriction was imposed- a Temporary Admission Document (TAD) was introduced as part of an agreement between the two neighbours to improve border security and combat terrorism. Under this policy, Afghan truck drivers transporting commercial goods must carry documents such as vehicle registration, ID cards, photographs, and a US$ 100 fee to get entry into Pakistan. It again sparked a volley of protests, with the authorities shutting down internet and communication services in the district for several days to disrupt the protests.
These restrictions not only made it difficult for people living across the border who had been routinely crossing it for years but also forced over 20,000 local workers out of jobs. The imposition of mandatory passport visas severely affected small businessmen and daily wage labourers working in Afghanistan. It may be noted that this was the first time since the demarcation of the controversial Durand Line between Pakistan and Afghanistan over a century ago that such a restriction has been imposed on the locals.
Divided by a Border (Durand Line) that Afghans refuse to Recognise
The Pashtun Empire disintegrated after the fall of the Durrani dynasty (18th century). The British wanted to gain control of the region in order to guard against Soviet expansion into Kabul, which led to three Anglo-Afghan wars being fought (1828–42, 1879–80 and 1919) between them and various Afghan Emirs. After the Second War in 1893, while negotiating with a British official, Mortimer Durand, Emir Abdur Khan agreed to draw a border between British India and Afghanistan. The final boundary – drawn in 1897- called the Durand Line – created a cleavage amongst the people who shared the same culture and ethnicity. The British regarded the agreement as defining their spheres of influence rather than marking a clear boundary of a sovereign nation.
After Pakistan’s formation in 1947, there was no formal agreement or ratification of treaties regarding the Durand Line. Afghanistan rejected various treaties signed with the British during a Loya Jirga (Leadership Council) held in July 1949. Since then, no Afghan government has accepted the 2,640 km Durand Line or the other treaties. While the line has been disputed by Afghans, who have never received it as an international border between the two, Pakistan views it as a permanent border with 18 crossing points, out of which Torkham & Chaman are the most commonly used ones for trade and movement of local people.
When the US military invaded Afghanistan in 2001, post 9/11, in its ‘War against Terror’, restrictions on border crossings were put by Pakistani officials since the Americans were concerned about the movements of Taliban fighters towards safe areas in Pakistan. Two years later, in 2003, Pakistan built the so-called Friendship Gate in Chaman along the main highway connecting Chaman in Balochistan to Spin Boldak in Kandahar province of Afghanistan.
Pakistan Army seeks Kabul’s support against TTP
Pakistan army has publicly sought the Afghan administration’s support against the TTP. Addressing a news conference at Army HQ in September 2024, its spokesman, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, alleged TTP “enjoys support” in Afghanistan. Pakistan always stood with Afghans in difficult times, and we hope “they would stand with us to eliminate terrorism from the region,” he added.
Pakistan Carries Out Strikes in Afghanistan
Earlier, in March this year, Pakistan security forces had conducted anti-terrorism operations against TTP militants based in Afghanistan in the wake of an attack on a military post in North Waziristan (Pakistan) that had killed seven soldiers. It is the latest of many assaults against Pakistani soldiers and police in the last few years, most of them perpetrated by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is closely allied with the Afghan Taliban. Taliban officials, while denying that militants stage cross-border attacks from Afghan soil, accused Islamabad of killing Afghan civilians, including children.
These new developments are not surprising, given the recent events. In the last two years since the Taliban’s return to power in Kabul, TTP has ramped up attacks in its neighbour’s territory. However, on its part, the Pakistani administration has tried many things to normalize relations, including talks with the TTP, domestic counter-terrorism operations, a border fence, and pressure tactics, including the expulsion of thousands of Afghan refugees. However, nothing has worked.
On the Pakistani side, the new government in Islamabad, already struggling with severe economic stress and public anger about the controversial 8 February election, must grapple with a crisis it can’t afford. Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir, who has held office since November 2022, has taken a tough public stance against Afghanistan, going as far as saying, “When it comes to the safety of every single Pakistani, the whole of Afghanistan can be damned.” As the most powerful figure in Pakistan, it’s evident that Munir would have approved the strikes.
Furthermore, Pakistan’s relations with the Taliban, its longtime ally, have been tense for months. Since 2021, the group hasn’t needed the wartime support it once received from Pakistan, depriving Islamabad of the leverage it had. Festering disagreements have come to the fore, including the border itself. The Taliban regime, like previous Afghan ruling entities, doesn’t recognize the border with Pakistan, and Taliban fighters have repeatedly clashed with Pakistani soldiers putting up border fencing.
Continued Violence in Khyber Pakhtukhwa
Ongoing tribal conflicts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s District Kurram have resulted in 124 deaths and 178 injured. Communication is disrupted, schools are closed, and the main Peshawar-Parachinar highway remains shut. Efforts for a ceasefire continue amidst a tense situation and ineffective truce agreements. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported 79 deaths in the region between July-October this year, underscoring the ongoing instability. Previous attempts to mediate peace, including a seven-day truce brokered by provincial authorities earlier this November, have failed to hold.
Border Situation continues to be Tense
The best-case scenario is that relations between the two neighbours astride the Durand line remain tense but violence-free, while the worst-case scenario is that the Taliban stages more attacks on Pakistani military targets. There is an irony here. During the US-led war in Afghanistan, Taliban militants used Pakistan as a base to stage attacks in Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s Karzai government then counted on operational support from NATO forces, but now Pakistan must wage its battle alone!
Continued unrest and clashes at the Spin Boldak–Chaman crossing indicate the deep-seated complexities of the region. Pakistan’s recent enforcement of passport/ visa requirements is a departure from over a century of relatively open cross-border movement. Taliban’s defiance in not recognising the Durand Line as the International Border, along with their strong opposition to Pakistan’s strict border control policies, indicates that the dispute is unlikely to be resolved soon unless one side relents, which seems doubtful. As both nations grapple with their internal challenges, the future of those living in proximity to the contested border remains uncertain.
Col (Dr) Bhasker Gupta (Retd)
