Discussions on the Durand Line are generally handled within the framework of the legitimacy of the line. The debate seems to continue, as the line derives its legitimacy from military power, not law.
The line, which was first implemented on 12 November 1893, takes its name from the British diplomat Mortimer Durand.
With the agreement signed between Mortimer Durand and the then Emir of Afghanistan, Abdurrahman Khan, the border line between Afghanistan and India under British control was determined.
The line took its final form with the Afghan-British agreement signed in 1919. While the line drawn separated Afghanistan from India, Pakistan, which was born with the partition of India in 1947, also determined this line as the border.
However, no Afghan administration has accepted this line as the official border.
Although tensions persisted along the border line, Afghanistan's plunge into war and instability in the late 1970s led to the preservation of the border line in favor of Pakistan.
Pakistan established outposts in many parts of the Durand Line by violating the border with Afghanistan.
East of Badakhshan, Nuristan and Kunar are not yet part of Afghanistan. Today, however, most of the Pashtun areas within Pakistan are under Afghan control.
WHICH COUNTRIES DOES THE LINE DIVIDE?
With the Durand Line, the Pashtuns, the most populous ethnic element of the region, are divided into two. At the same time, Baluch people living in Pakistan and Afghanistan are separated from each other by a line.
Along with the line, the Pashtun Tribal Territories in western Pakistan were severed from Afghanistan. However, since this mountainous region is fully integrated into Afghanistan with its cultural and political codes, it was not as easy to separate the region from Afghanistan as it was on the map.
Between 15-20 million Pashtuns live on the Afghan side of the border, while around 45 million live on the Pakistani side. Similarly, while the number of Baluch people living in Afghanistan is approximately 1 million, this population exceeds 7 million in Pakistan. Culturally, Pashtuns and Balochs in Pakistan are more akin to Afghan culture than to Indian Subcontinent culture.
THE LINE GETS ITS LEGITIMACY FROM MILITARY POWER, NOT LAW
Today, discussions about the Durand Line are generally handled within the framework of the legitimacy of the line. In particular, Afghans state that the Durand Line is not legitimate, citing both the inadmissibility of the decision of the administration that accepted the line and the historical process. Pakistan, on the other hand, argues that the current Pakistani state is the successor of the British Empire in the region, so the agreements will remain valid.
When political scientists consider the historical process, they do not technically accept the Durand Line as a peace treaty signed between two states. If the agreement were a border demarcation agreement between the two states, there would be no such tensions.
With the independence of Pakistan in 1947, Afghans declared that they did not recognize the line. This is interpreted as there is no legally binding agreement between the two parties. However, these discussions are not reflected on the field, as the Durand Line currently derives its legitimacy from military power, not law.