Durand Line

The Durand Line, also known as the Afghanistan–Pakistan International border, is a 2,640-kilometre (1,640 mi) international border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The western end runs to the border with Iran and the eastern end to the border with China.

The Durand Line was established in 1893 as the international border between the Emirate of Afghanistan and the British Indian Empire by Mortimer Durand, a British diplomat of the Indian Civil Service, and Abdur Rahman Khan, the Emir of Afghanistan, to fix the limit of their respective spheres of influence and improve diplomatic relations and trade. The single-page Agreement, dated 12 November 1893, contains seven short articles, including a commitment not to exercise interference beyond the Durand Line. A joint British-Afghan demarcation survey took place starting from 1894, covering some 800 miles (1,300 km) of the border.

Established towards the end of the British–Russian "Great Game" rivalry, the resulting line established Afghanistan as a buffer zone between British and Russian interests in the region. The line created Wakhan Corridor as buffer between British and Russian empires and granted Nuristan (then known as Kafiristan) and parts of Chitral to Afghanistan, while giving up claims to Waziristan and Chageh. It also permitted arms imports from British India and increased the subsidy given to Afghanistan from 1.2 to 1.8 million rupees. The line, as modified and ratified by the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919, was inherited by Pakistan in 1947, following its independence. From a geopolitical and geostrategic perspective, it has been described as one of the most dangerous borders in the world.

The Durand Line is internationally recognized as the western border of Pakistan, although it remains largely unrecognised in Afghanistan. However many non-Pashtun ethnic groups in Afghanistan, such as Tajiks and Hazaras, have expressed its recognition. In April 2017, the Tajik politician Abdul Latif Pedram and his National Congress Party (NCP) recognised the Durand Line as the official border, which sparked outrage from the Pashtun nationalists. In February 2026, a Hazara politician Taher Zohair, the former governor of Bamyan, said that "Durand is an official border and whoever does not accept it is irrational".