The Afghan Border Force (ABF) was a paramilitary police responsible for counterinsurgency and security of Afghanistan's border area with neighboring countries extending up to into the interior and formed part of the

Afghan National Army The Islamic National Army (, ), also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army, is the army, land force branch of the Afghan Armed Forces. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be traced back to the early 18th century when th ...

. In December 2017, most of the Afghan Border Police (ABP) personnel of the

Afghan National Police The Afghan National Police (ANP; ; ), also known as the Afghan Police, is the national police force of the Afghanistan, Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, serving as a single law enforcement agency all across the country. The first police officer i ...

were transferred to the Afghan National Army to form the Afghan Border Force. The ABP retained 4,000 personnel for customs operations at border crossings and

international airports An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have facilities ...

such as checking documents of foreigners entering the country or deporting them. The ABF's, and its predecessor the ABP, anti-narcotic efforts were a prominent concern to the international community during the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

. The ABF, and the ABP in its former role, patrolled a 50 km-wide corridor along the entirety of Afghanistan's border, particularly the long and porous

Durand Line The Durand Line (; ; ), also known as the Afghanistan–Pakistan border, is a international border between Afghanistan and Pakistan in South Asia. The western end runs to the border with Iran and the eastern end to the border with China. The D ...

border in the southeast with neighboring

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Organization

The ABP fell under the command of the

(ANP) which was under the administrative control of the Ministry of Interior Affairs. The ABP was headquartered in

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

, in the nation's capital, and was commanded by a

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

. Prior to 2017, the Afghan Border Police divided command of its 23,000 members across 6 zones to protect 14 Border Crossing Points and 5 Major Airports.

Mazar-e-Sharif (Northern Zone)

New training program begins at Afghan border

Afghan border crossing at Sher Khan in Kunduz Province-3

Faryab Province Faryab (Dari,Pashto : فاریاب) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, which is located in the north of the country bordering neighboring Turkmenistan. It has a population of about 1,109,223, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a ...

** Almar District **

Shirin Tagab District Shirin-Tagab (meaning in Uzbek language: "Sweet Water", also known as Koh-i-Saiyād) is the district center in the Faryab Province, Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located ...

** Dawlat Abad District ** Qaramqol District ** Andkhoy District ** Khani Chahar Bagh District *

Jowzjan Province Jowzjan, sometimes spelled Jawzjan or Jowzjan () is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the north of the country bordering neighboring Turkmenistan. The province is divided into 11 districts and contains hundreds of villag ...

** Khwaja du koh District ** Khamyab District ** Qarqin District *

Balkh Province Balkh (Dari and , ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the north of the country. It is divided into 15 districts and has a population of about 1,509,183, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a Persian-speaking society. The city o ...

** Shortepa District ** Kaldar District *

Kunduz Province Kunduz () is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northern part of the country next to Tajikistan. The population of the province is around 1,136,677, which is mostly a tribal society; it is one of Afghanistan's most ethnically ...

** Qalay-I-Zal District ** Imam Sahib District

Fayzabad (Northeastern Zone)

Takhar Province Takhar (Dari/Pashto: ) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeast of the country next to Tajikistan. It is surrounded by Badakhshan in the east, Panjshir in the south, and Baghlan and Kunduz in the west. The ...

** Khwaja Ghar District **

Yangi Qala District Yangi Qala District is a district in Takhar Province, Afghanistan. Economically the population of this district is primarily involved in agriculture. The main crops are rice and wheat, and the surplus rice is exporting to neighboring districts an ...

** Sarqad District **

Chah Ab District Chah Ab District (Persian: ولسوالی چاه آب) is a district of Takhar Province, Afghanistan. Its district center is Chah Ab. The district's economy is primarily based on agriculture and livestock. Geography Chah Ab has an area of 764 ki ...

Badakhshan Province Badakhshan Province (Dari: بدخشان) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Tajikistan's Gorno-Badakhshan in the north and the Pakistani regions of Lower and Upper C ...

Shahri Buzurg District Shahr-e-Bozorg (; meaning Great City) is one of the 28 districts of Badakhshan province in northeastern Afghanistan. According to latest estimates, approximately 67,000 people live in the district. The district of Shahr-e-Bozorg is located in ...

** Yawan District ** Ragh District ** Kuf Ab District ** Shekay District ** Darwaz district ** Darvaz-e Bala District ** Shighnan District ** Ishkashim District ** Wakhan District ** Zebak District ** Kuran wa Munjan District

Jalalabad Jalalabad (; Help:IPA/Persian, ͡ʒä.lɑː.lɑː.bɑːd̪ is the list of cities in Afghanistan, fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 200,331, and serves as the capital of Nangarhar Province in the eastern part ...
(Eastern Zone)

Afghan-Pakistani at the Friendship Gate in Spin Boldak

Nuristan Province Nuristan, also spelled as Nurestan or Nooristan (Pashto: ; Katë: ), is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country. It is divided into seven districts and is Afghanistan's least populous province, with a ...

** Bargi Matal District ** Kamdesh District *

Kunar Province Kunar (Pashto: ; Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. Its capital is Asadabad. Its population is estimated to be 508,224. Kunar's major political groups include Wahhabis or Ahl-e- ...

** Nari District ** Dangam District ** Marawara District **

Sirkanay District Sirkanay District (Sarkani District) is situated in the central part of Kunar Province, Afghanistan. It borders Pakistan to the south. The population is 39,292 (2019). The district administrative center is the village of Serkanay () at 775 m altit ...

** Khas Kunar District *

Nangarhar Province Nangarhār (Pashto: ; Dari: ), also called Nangrahar or Ningrahar, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country and Border, bordering Logar Province, Logar, Kabul Province, Kabul, Laghman Province, Laghm ...

** Goshta District ** Lal Pur District ** Momand Dara District ** Dur Baba District ** Achin District ** Dih Bala District ** Pachir Wa Agam District **

Khogyani District Khogyani (, ) is a Districts of Afghanistan, district in the south of Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, bordering Pakistan. Its population is entirely Pashtun people, Pashtun, and was estimated at 146,852 in 2002. The district is within the heartl ...

Sherzad District Sherzad is a district in the west of Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan. It has a short (approximately 5 km) stretch of border with Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the Lis ...

Gardez Gardez ( / ; ''Gardēz'', meaning "mountain fortress" in Middle Persian) is the capital of the Paktia Province of Afghanistan. The population of the city was estimated to be ca. 10,000 in the 1979 census and was estimated to be 70,000 in 2008. Th ...
(Southeastern Zone)

Paktia Province Paktia (Pashto – ''Paktyā'') is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the east of the country. Forming part of the larger Loya Paktia region, Paktia Province is divided into 15 districts and has a population of roughly 623,00 ...

** Azra District ** Zazi District ** Dand Wa Patan District *

Khost Province Khost (Pashto/Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan located in the southeastern part of the country. Khost consists of thirteen districts and the city of Khost serves as the capital of the province. Historically, Khost used to be a par ...

** Jaji Maydan District ** Bak District ** Tirazayi District ** Khost District ** Gurbuz District ** Tani District ** Spera District *

Paktika Province Paktika (Pashto: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country. Forming part of the larger Loya Paktia region, Paktika has a population of about 789,000 residents, who are mostly ethnic Pashtuns but sma ...

** Ziruk District ** Urgon District ** Gayan District ** Barmal District ** Gomal District ** Wor Mamay District

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...
(Southern Zone)

Zabul Province Zabul (Pashto/Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the south of the country. It has a population of 249,000. Zabul became an independent province from neighbouring Kandahar in 1963. Historically, it was part of the Zab ...

** Shamulzayi District ** Atghar District * Kandahar Province ** Maruf District ** Arghistan District **

Spin Boldak District Spin Boldak is a district in the eastern part of Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. It borders Daman District to the west, Arghistan District to the north, Qila Abdullah District of Pakistan to the east and Shorabak District to the south. The popu ...

Shorabak District Shorabak District (also Shorawak) is a remote district situated in the southeastern part of Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, 110 km south and east of Kandahar. It borders Reg District to the west, Spin Boldak District to the north and Pakistan t ...

** Reg District *

Helmand Province Helmand (Pashto language, Pashto/Dari language, Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering ...

** Garmsir District ** Dishu District *

Nimruz Province Nimruz or Nimroz (Balochi language, Balochi: ; Dari, Pashto language, Pashto: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southwestern part of the country. It lies to the east of the Sistan and Baluchestan province of Iran and nor ...

** Chahar Burjak District ** Zaranj District **

Kang District Kang District ( Balochi: , Dari: ) is a district of Nimruz Province in Afghanistan. It has a population of about 13,514 , which is 70% ethnic Baloch, 15% Pashtun, and 15% Tajik. Notable people * Rouh Gul Khairzad (born 1974), politician Se ...

Herat Herāt (; Dari/Pashto: هرات) is an oasis city and the third-largest city in Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Se ...
(Western Zone)

Farah Province Farah (Pashto :فرَاه /) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southwestern part of the country on the border with Iran. It is a spacious and sparsely populated province, divided into eleven Districts of Afghanistan, dist ...

** Lash Wa Juwayn District ** Shib Koh District ** Qala i Kah District ** Anar Dara District *

Herat Province Herat ( Dari: هرات) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the western part of the country. Together with Badghis, Farah, and Ghor provinces, it makes up the north-western region of Afghanistan. Its primary city a ...

** Adraskan District ** Ghoryan District **

Kohsan District Kohsan (Pashto: کوهسان ولسوالۍ) is a Districts of Afghanistan, district of Herat province in northwestern Afghanistan. It borders the nation of Iran to the west, Gulran District to the north, and Ghurian District to the south and eas ...

** Gulran District ** Kushk District ** Kushki Kuhna District *

Badghis Province Bādghīs () is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northwest of the country, on the border with Turkmenistan. It is considered to be one of the country's most underdeveloped provinces, with the highest poverty rate. T ...

Ab Kamari District Ab Kamari is a district in the west of Badghis Province, Afghanistan. Its population was estimated at 36,300 in 2002, the ethnic makeup of which was approximately 100 % hazara The district capital is Sang Atesh. Other localities include Ab Khud ...

** Muqur District ** Murghab District ** Ghormach District The majority of the Afghan Border Police officers were trained by the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

and various Federal government employees as well as by the European Union Police Mission (EUPOL). In order to prepare for their duties as ABP, recruits attended an 8-week course designed by the German Bundespolizei (BPOL). Also Italy provided qualified training to ABP personnel in West Region by TF GRIFO deployed in Herat by the

Guardia di Finanza The Guardia di Finanza (; G. di F. or GdF; or ) is an Italian militarised law enforcement agency under the Ministry of Economy and Finance (Italy), Ministry of Economy and Finance, instead of the Ministry of Defence (Italy), Ministry of Defence ...

. The BPOL were still heavily involved in mentoring ABP officers as of 2009. In January 2011, there were at least 25

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the Un ...

and Customs and Border Protection officers providing training to the Afghan Border Police. Homeland Security Secretary

Janet Napolitano Janet Ann Napolitano (; born November 29, 1957) is an American politician, lawyer, and academic administrator. She served as president of the University of California from 2013 to 2020, on the faculty at the Goldman School of Public Policy at t ...

stated that the number could reach 65 or more by the end of 2011. Napolitano visited the

Torkham border crossing Torkham border crossing (Urdu, Persian, and ''Tūrkham'') is a major border crossing between the Pakistani city of Torkham and Afghanistan, located along the Grand Trunk Road on the international border between the two countries. It connect ...

with Pakistan and was satisfied with the progress being made there. The ABP was known to have jointly trained with the Tajik Border Troops, its equivalent in

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

, which was overseen by the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...

References

External links

* {{Border protection agencies Border guards Law enforcement in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Defunct law enforcement agencies of Afghanistan Military units and formations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Military of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Military units and formations established in 2017 Military units and formations disestablished in 2021

Organization

Mazar-e-Sharif (Northern Zone)

Fayzabad (Northeastern Zone)

Jalalabad Jalalabad (; Help:IPA/Persian, ͡ʒä.lɑː.lɑː.bɑːd̪ is the list of cities in Afghanistan, fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 200,331, and serves as the capital of Nangarhar Province in the eastern part ... (Eastern Zone)

Gardez Gardez ( / ; ''Gardēz'', meaning "mountain fortress" in Middle Persian) is the capital of the Paktia Province of Afghanistan. The population of the city was estimated to be ca. 10,000 in the 1979 census and was estimated to be 70,000 in 2008. Th ... (Southeastern Zone)