ISLAMABAD: A researcher on Friday presented new evidence affirming the Durand Line’s status as an international boundary between Pakistan and Afghanistan at a time when there are increasing disputes over its legitimacy from various quarters across the border.

The Durand Line, a subject deeply embedded in the realms of politics and geostrategic, holds an undisputed status as a border acknowledged by the global community, said Dr Lutfur Rehman, the author of the book, titled “Revisiting the Durand Line: Historical and Legal Perspectives” which was launched at a ceremony jointly organised the School of Politics and International Relations (SPIR), Quaid-i-Azam University and the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) at the university campus.

Dr Rehman shared the original maps which were exchanged at the time of the signing of the accord between British India and the Afghanistan’s ruler in 1893 to reinforce the position that Durand Line was an international border.

The author dispelled misunderstanding surrounding the Durand Line agreement, grounding his narrative in concrete evidence and international law. He addressed a prevalent misconception that the agreement was set to expire after a century in 1993, clarifying that it contained no sunset clause. In fact, Article 2 of the agreement definitively resolved the demarcation issue once and for all.

Dr Rehman reveals original maps exchanged between British India, Afghanistan in 1893

He further said contrary to the belief that Ameer Abdur Rahman was coerced into signing the treaty, historical records suggested otherwise. The author clarified that Ameer Abdur Rehman had himself requested the British government to demarcate the border and directly took part in concluding the agreement as he felt threatened by the continuous expansion of the British and Russian empires.

Dr Rehman said the Afghanistan border was delineated with precision through comprehensive ground surveys, mutually agreed-upon discussions, and maps. As a gesture of goodwill, the colonial rulers even ceded several regions of British India to Afghanistan, the author further elaborated.

Speaking on the occasion, SPIR Director Dr Zafar Nawaz Jaspal said the Durand Line issue had been misinterpreted repeatedly, and such misconstrued claims should be resolved for good neighbourly relations.

Former vice-chancellor of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University Dr Razia Sultana said the whole dilemma was political and geostrategic where the persistent irritancies and rivalry had proven no good to any state. She further said the Durand Line was not a valid historical problem, rather an issue of division of an ethnic group.

“This is not a strong point as Pakhtoons are very much integrated into Pakistan’s political, economic, and military life,” she observed.

Ambassador Abrar Hussain said successive Afghan governments had developed the rhetoric on Durand Line for political gains but had never taken it to an international forum. “This is because of the lack of evidence behind their narrative. Pakistan does not bring up the matter in the interest of mutual relations and because it considers the Durand Line an international boundary and a settled issue,” he declared.

IPS Chairman Khalid Rahman was of the view that border controversy suited external and internal actors who did not want Pak-Afghan relations to flourish. He pinpointed the prevalence of misinformation as a significant hurdle, hampering genuine research efforts.

The other speakers said the book dispelled the misconceptions through evidence-based research and citing international laws and principles. As further evidence, they said, it contained all the original maps exchanged in Kabul in November 1893, following the border agreement between the ruler of Afghanistan Ameer Abdur Rahman Khan and British Indian official Mortimer Durand.

Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2023