The Durand Line Needs To Be Redrawn Between Pakistan- And Pashtunistan
The Durand line was carved out forcibly by the British in 1893 artificially dividing the Pashtun dominated regions Afghanistan and India. It has never been accepted by the Afghan people, Afghan Government and the Pashtuns ever since.Ever since there has been movements for integration with Afghanistan (their historical homeland) by the Pashtun people now in Pakistan but this movement has been crushed by force, earlier by the British and now by Pakistan.
One of the moot points of conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan is over this geopolitical cartography drawn by Sir Henry Mortimer Durand in 1893 through a forced pact with then Amir of Afghanistan, Abdur Rahman, covering vast stretch of terrains both rugged as well as plain (though strategically significant) of “over around 2400 Km.
Presently peace and stability in Afghanistan to a great extent depend upon checkmating the growth and proliferation of radical and terrorist forces which are operating with impunity because of the covert and overt support being provided by Pakistan to these terror groups operating around Durand line.
One major issue which generating bad blood between these two neighbours is that the Pakistan government has of late started fencing Durand line. This was done by Pakistan to legitimise the Durand line which will give much strategic advantages to Pakistan in the long-run. This intrigue move by Pakistan is generating much uproar in Afghanistan, both at the level of government and also by the local public. What the general perception about the Pakistan move (as one can infer from the newspapers reporting) is that it aims to control a vast stretch of land in the name of border fencing which as they say will pose a threat to the existing de facto status of the Durand Line. The official Afghanistan position is that the Durand Line is a “disputed border demarcation” and it has no “legal sanctity” whatsoever. The unilateral border fencing initiated by Pakistan has also been raised strong official protest from the Afghan government by calling it the “ de facto” border.
Amrullah Saleh, Vice President of Afghanistan added a rejoinder to the issue of Durand Line conflict when he posted the same on his personal Twitter page on September 7, 2020. Saleh brought out the age old issue into the forefront when he wrote “ No Afghan politician of national stature can overlook the issue of Durand Line. It will condemn him or her in life & after life. It is an issue which needs discussions & resolution. Expecting us to gift it for free is un-realistic. Peshawar used to be the winter capital of Afg”. One may recall here that Saleh brought out the real intention of the Afghan political elite.
Thus both Durand Line crisis along with Pakistan’s role in aiding and abetting terrorism are some of the major concerns posing a strong threat to Afghan security. To end the Afghan conflict, the question of Durand Line and its impact on the on-going peace process of Afghanistan needs to be studied in depth. The political elite of Afghanistan should also take steps to reintegrate Pashtun dominated region located in Pakistan. It is in fact the first step towards bringing normalcy to Afghanistan. India should support Afghanistan in addressing the concerns of the Pashtun population.
The origin of Durand Line can be attributed to the complex geopolitics which was prevalent in Afghanistan largely due to the imperialistic overture both on part of Tsarist Russia and then Colonial British occupation of India in the latter half of 19th Century. Both of them wanted to have a greater control over the situation in Afghanistan at that point of time keeping their respective strategic interests in mind. At the same time, the Afghan rulers were also more interested in preserving their autonomy in the backdrop of growing conflict and competition between these two above-mentioned adversaries.
The rivalry between Tsarist ruler of Russia and British colonial power was aptly captured as “Great Game” in the book Kim by Rudyard Kipling, who portrayed the confrontation, in a fictional form. The portrayal of this confrontation was also rightly captured by Lord Curzon in his book, The Frontiers, published in 1907. In the book, Curzon highlights that “Frontier policy is of the first practical importance, and has a more profound impact upon the peace and warfare of nations” (p.4). Keeping this policy in mind the British colonial administration created two forms of the protectorate as stated by Curzon to checkmate the Tsarist Russian advance. These “two forms of protectorate” were “active protection” and the “Afghan border is the outer or advanced strategic frontier” (p.41). What Curzon intends to state here is that treating Afghanistan as a buffer and its boundary with Central Asia as an “frontier” is the best means to checkmate the Russian advancement. There was a rumbling going on at that point that Russia may advance beyond the Oxus which would have posed a threat to British colonial administration. The “apprehension” on part of the then British colonial administration in India grew because of growing penetration of the Russian goods in Afghanistan along with heavy Russian military presence in the vicinity of North Afghanistan as mention by Curzon in his book, Russia in Central Asia, published in 1889 (pp.283-284 and 298). Curzon quoting high officials of the Colonial administration of India further mentions that the Tsarist Russian ruler stationed around “95,000 soldiers” in Turkestan to launch an “invasion on India” (p.307). The Russian advancement has also been summerly highlighted by Durand in his book titled Life of the Right Hon. Sir Alfred Comyn Lyall published in 1913. Durand set out some of the reasons which propelled the Colonial British to step in Afghanistan.
One of the major legal implications of the Durand line Agreement of 1893 is that the delimitation of territories which created a de facto boundary between Afghanistan and India. As part of the Agreement, the Amir retained his position in the Wakhan thus separating the Russian and British troops. At the same time, he also ensured his control over the “Asmar district and the Wazir district of Birmal”. On the other hand, the Amir as part of the treaty had agreed to transfer Pustun dominated region like “Chitral, Swat, New Chaman, Khabiar Pass, Chagai, North Waziristan”. It is pertinent to mention here that though the Agreement paved the way for settlement of frontier question, one important point that needs to be discussed is that the Agreement of 1893 in its provisions itself provided for “any differences of detail, such as those which will have to be considered hereafter by the officers appointed to demarcate the boundary line.”
Second point that needs to be delved here is the validity of the treaty. This aspect is generating much controversy post 1947. Over a period of time, numerous studies suggest Durand line is legally void, hence Pakistan (in the post 1947 era) has no legal right to control over the territories, which Afghanistan considers as its own. In this regard scholars highlight following reasons which contributed to the discourse that Durand Line is not legally binding on Afghanistan.
The treaty was signed between the Amir of Afghanistan and the then colonial British administration in India and also not ratified by any legislative bodies of either sides hence it is legally untenable as studies suggest. The Durand Line and the boundary (administrative border) between the Tribal Agencies and Settled Districts of the North-West Frontier Province was simply a delineating zones of influence and responsibility. It was not an international boundary at all rather a de-facto arrangement keeping the geopolitical developments in mind at that point of time.
It has also been observed that in 1921 Afghanistan and British Colonial administration signed in 1921 further provided three years term for the treaty and “ revocation” of treaty if “ both the parties agree”.
As stated by legal luminaries and scholars that the British colonial Administration “signed the treaty using duress” in 1893 hence any law which was signed “under duress is invalid” in the domain of International Law.
Though the border agreement was signed, but the Afghan side led by its King was not happy with the agreement. A Political And Diplomatic History of Afghanistan, 1863-1901, published in 2006 delves on this issue. The regions which were given to the British colonial authority at that point of time under 1893 Agreement was quite arbitrary in nature. The people of the Region, were overwhelmingly Pashtuns, and Afghanistan had itself originated from this region. So this redrawing of territories paved the way for wreaking the identity of Pathan people as they were cut-off from their roots and rest of the community. It has been also observed that the Amir himself “admitted the mistakes he committed by signing the Accord”. At the local level also there was a sense of resentment among the people at that time as they opposed the Durand Accord and the division of Pashtun territories.
Another major consequences of the Durand Accord of the 1893 as suggested by many historians and strategic thinkers is that Afghanistan remained a land locked country and could not able to access the sea through Baluchistan because most of the territories carved out through Durand Agreement are now in Pakistan.
Post-1947 there was a growing demand for merger of Pashtun dominated area with Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s position was that since the agreement was signed between Afghanistan and the then British colonial Administration of India and subsequent other agreements cease to exist as the latter is no longer there and Pakistan has no locus standi to keep the Pashtun dominated areas under its control. It may be recalled here that when Pakistan came into existence it was Afghanistan who did not recognise Pakistan. Similarly, the attack on Afghanistan by Pakistan is also well-known fact which further jeopardised the relations between the two in the post- 1947 phase.
The moot point of disagreement between Kabul and Islamabad was however the Durand Line. It may be underlined here that even there was growing resentment among the Pashtun population in Pakistan over the way the British colonial administration treated them and did not allow them to join with Afghanistan. At the same time, Pakistan also did not allow Pashtun to maintain their independence.
Some of these historical narratives as discussed above throws much light on the intriguing policy of the British colonial administration, jingoistic attitude on part of Pakistan in the post 1947 phase and failure on part of Afghan Amir at that point of time to understand the real motive of Britishers which are now contributing to the present impasse over the Durand line. However, the obsession of Afghan political elite to secure Afghanistan is a passion, deep in their hearts.
It may be underlined here that the movement for incorporation of North West Frontier Province, FATA region of Pakistan stretching up to Baluchistan has gained further momentum in the post 1947 phase. Successive Afghan governments have raised this issue at various regional and international forums. Even the historical memory of Pashtunistan is still lingering in the mind of the common people in both the sides of the Durand Line.
The Pashtun constitutes around 15.4 percent of total population of Pakistan. However, the Pakistani establishment is quite successful in silencing the voice of Pashtuns. As reported by human right organisations, the harassment of Pashtun population is a common phenomenon in Pakistan. Many Pashtun organisations in recent years, as reported, are also articulating the demand for protection of Pashtun population of Pakistan who are facing threats from radical terrorist groups like Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). These radical and terrorist groups are operating in the region bordering Durand line with the covert support of Pakistan Army as alleged by many Pashtun activists of Pakistan. It has also been further observed by various studies that the Pakistani government to weaken the Pashtun movement and to gain an “upper hand” in Afghanistan’s domestic politics in the 1990s sponsored and supported the Taliban by playing the religious card.
The recent controversy between Afghanistan and Pakistan over fencing of Durand line has to be studied in the foregoing discussion. The Durand line is becoming a major bone of contention between the two countries and going to inflate in future.
India should raise the issue of human rights violation in the Pashtun dominated regions of FATA, Khyber Pakhtun region by Pakistan.
India should also take steps to protect Hindu and Buddhist historical remnants located in the Pashtun dominated regions of Pakistan. This is necessary because there are number of reports which highlight the desecration of these historical monuments in the FATA and Khyber Pakhtun region by terrorist groups and lack of effective protection being provided by the Pakistani government.
This is a known fact that most of the terrorist groups with the active support from Pakistan are operating in Khyber Pakhtun and FATA region thus posing a security threat to the peace process of Afghanistan. India and Afghanistan should jointly cooperate to tackle and checkmate the menace of terrorism.
India should also provide legal and technical assistance to Afghanistan to resolve the Durand Line dispute.
To conclude, it can be added here that there is a need to look at the relevance of the Durand line agreement in the present context. Now there is no aggression from Russia and there is a democratically elected government in Afghanistan. In this context what is required is reintegration of the Pashtun dominated territories located in Pakistan with Afghanistan. It is surprising to note that the Taliban instead of focusing on how to take back their historical Pashtun territories located in Pakistan is indulging in violence and terrorist activities in Afghanistan with the active support of Pakistan.
