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Pakistan should stay the course affably with Afghanistan, even if the fence has ‘seemingly’ lost its purpose

Inam Ul Haque January 06, 2022 $"%!

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The writer is a retired major general and has an interest in International Relations and Political Sociology. He can be reached at
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Pakistan has finally told the interim government of Islamic Emirate of Cabinet meets another IMF

Afghanistan (IEA) to restrain its lower ranking officials involved in dismantling condition for $1b loan
Updated Jan 05, 2022
and damaging the fence over Pak-Afghan border — the Durand Line. And that
Pakistan was observing “maximum restraint” to avoid any escalation. There SC rejects govt's plea
were incidents (18th December along eastern province of Nangarhar and against demolition of
thereafter) where ‘some’ local Taliban soldiers (reportedly including a local Madina Mosque in Karachi
intelligence chief) tried to remove the fence. And as per Kabul News, Afghan Updated Jan 04, 2022

defence ministry spokesperson Enayatullah Khwarazmi also dubbed the fencing

Poor response to electric
as divisive for the families on both sides of the border. However, Mr Soahil
vehicles policy
Shaheen, the IEA representative-designate to the UN, downplayed the incidents
Updated Jan 05, 2022
as localised.

Before we jump to any conclusions, the issue ‘border’ and ‘fence’ should be seen in
context. The ‘fence’ — as affected people on either side claim — divides families,
restraining the centuries’ old ‘easement rights’ under which population of some 17
tribes could move freely across from either side. The fence has also hit at smugglers’
profits, whose trade has nosedived after its erection. Most border areas had smuggler-
owned/operated smuggling/trade routes where toll was also collected by them.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2337304/afghanistan-and-the-dur…wAR2mDBc-jMxnpA_bkoj7lvS_UmM8_-ZOiG5LXgQPdnfaSG_Ld8ZUFXBDc6M Page 1 of 5
Afghanistan and the Durand Line 06/01/2022, 4:43 PM

Fence is not popular especially with the Afghans, given their repeated claims that
British India and later the Pakistani state had encroached upon the Afghan territory ‘to
improve posture’. In the cited incidents, the local Taliban commanders had provoked Join Us
Pakistani border forces on their own, with no authorisation from Kabul. IEA itself
remains worried about the conduct of their rank and file. Its leadership understands the $ " &
importance of Pakistan-Afghan relations at this critical juncture, when Pakistan is
their sole and only ally and interlocutor. Any such provocations could also be at the
behest of other stakeholders like India, the underground cadre of ANSF, NDS — the
erstwhile Afghan Intelligence Agency — and many others, who see a benefit in
creating a rift in Pak-Afghan ties. IEA still does not have its footing given its
involvement on multiple fronts.

From Afghan standpoint, fencing of around 2600-kilometre-long and rugged border,

that is 90 per cent complete, has remained contentious. Kabul claims that British India
had unilaterally imposed the line drawn by Sir Henry Mortimer Durand (1850-1924)
in and after 1893, on Amir Abdurrahman (ruled 1880-1901).

From Pakistan’s point of view, the fence is important to regulate movement of people
on both sides of the border, just like any land borders anywhere. Fence is important to
stop the unchecked movement of terrorist elements on both sides. Fence-erection
remained central in Pakistan’s reply to the ubiquitous chorus of ‘do more’ by the
US/NATO. And fence has considerably reduced smuggling under the Afghan-Pakistan
Transit Trade Agreement.

As of 31 December, “Both sides have reached an understanding not to escalate the

situation,” and “Afghan side was requested to coordinate border alignment before
fixing the fence,” as per a Pakistani official. The acting Afghan defence minister,
Mullah Yaqub, son of Mullah Omar, directed local Taliban commanders to avoid a
repeat, during visit to the area.

Historically, the ‘Durand Line’ was a “mutually agreed border” between two
sovereign countries, after some “procrastination” by Amir Abdurrehman, who called
the work of the Durand Commission “a thing which must take place, but at the proper
time.” Durand traveled to Afghanistan with no escort, and was received at Landi
Khana (near Landi Kotal) by none other than Ghulam Haidar Charkhi, the Afghan
Army Commander-in-Chief, in October 1893. In Kabul, the British party was given a
21-gun salute with a band playing “God save the Queen”.

Since Amir was capturing territories from Russia and British India in North-East and
South-East respectively that once belonged to Afghanistan, both these governments
pressed for boundary demarcation. Amir’s ‘procrastination’ was motivated by more
land grab before formal agreements.

Internally, Durand’s primary goal was to “acquaint the Amir” about the Russian threat
through a weakened Afghanistan, then a “gateway” to British India, the “crown-
jewel”. The Amir received a subsidy of Rs12 lakh from the British government. The
Russians, on the other hand, aimed to elicit British pressure on Amir to retreat from
territories (in Badakhshan) that bordered Czarist Russia.

The Amir, on the other hand — fearful of territorial loss to British India — desired to
“have a wall around his country”. However, during negotiations, he lost almost all
territorial claims to the Commission except Kafiristan; given to Afghanistan being
“miserably poor”, strategically difficult in location and governance. Amir accepted, as
he intended to convert Kafirs for domestic political gains. The Amir was also made to
hold Wakhan Corridor in return for Rs6 lakh, additional to his subsidy.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2337304/afghanistan-and-the-dur…wAR2mDBc-jMxnpA_bkoj7lvS_UmM8_-ZOiG5LXgQPdnfaSG_Ld8ZUFXBDc6M Page 2 of 5
Afghanistan and the Durand Line 06/01/2022, 4:43 PM

Without going into details; the wily British were able to enact a most favourable
agreement for British India, to create an ‘Afghan buffer’ that avoided direct border
and conflict with a stronger Russia. But the fact remains that the Amir signed the
Agreement of his free will on 12 November 1893 and ratified it the very next day in a
public Durbar of some 400 Afghan nobles and notables.

Physical demarcation of the Line drawn on a questionable map started in February

1894 by three joint Afghan-British parties. Demarcation was widely resisted in
Waziristan and elsewhere, as both sides had no ‘geographer’ available during
negotiations to assess the Boundary’s demographic and ethnolinguistic accuracy and
implications. However, the Afghan desire, if any, to revisit the 128 years’ old status
quo is not tenable under international law; as 50 nations during Afghan occupation
(2001-2021) treated Durand Line as an international border.

For Pakistan, remaining sensitive to the Afghan predicament and focusing on the
larger geo-strategic advantage that the IEA ascent to power brings to Pakistan are
important. Larger opportunities should never be squandered by petty, emotive and
smaller issues. Local spoilers, as identified, should be effectively neutralised. A joint
Pak-Afghan Border Commission should mutually decide any difference of opinion
over local demarcation, ‘if inevitable’. There are many who would like to impose a
failure on the IEA, sow instability, suck Pakistan in and continue fishing in the
troubled waters. IEA also needs to beware, assert itself and restrain its unwitting rank
and file.

Pakistan should stay the course affably with Afghanistan, even if the fence has
‘seemingly’ lost its significance and purpose in an emerging and altered geo-
strategic construct. Tajik-dominated ANSF is dissolved, Pashtun-dominated
IEA is a reality. Debate to continue.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 6th, 2022.

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