India a close ally, Pakistan a sworn foe—a one-page Afghan agreement drew the line, sealing PoK's fate

Which line is between India and Afghanistan? India and Afghanistan have long been close friends. Even after the Taliban regime, Afghanistan has considered India its close friend. Meanwhile, Pakistan remains its sworn enemy.

New Delhi : Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Foreign Minister of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, recently visited India. His arrival has caused concern in Pakistan, China, and even the United States. While Afghanistan considers India a close friend, it has always considered Pakistan a sworn enemy. Muttaqi has also described India as a very close friend of Afghanistan. Meanwhile, this bloody rivalry with Pakistan began with a line. The Durand Line, dividing the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, was drawn during British India. This is a 2,640-kilometer (1,640-mile) long international border between the two countries. Its western end borders Iran, and its eastern end borders China. Some parts also connect to India. Incensed by Muttaqi's visit to India, Pakistan launched an airstrike on Kabul. Subsequently, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) carried out a major suicide attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Let us understand how this line became a Bhasmasur for Pakistan?

Who drew the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan?

The Durand Line was established in 1893 as the international border between the Emirate of Afghanistan and the British Indian Empire. Mortimer Durand, a British diplomat of the Indian Civil Service, and Abdur Rahman Khan, the Emir of Afghanistan, drew the line to demarcate their respective spheres of influence and to improve diplomatic relations and trade. At the time, Britain recognized Afghanistan as an independent state, although it maintained control over its foreign affairs and diplomatic relations.

The Afghan version of Op Sindoor was successfully completed & ended with a beautiful Attan, the Afghan national dance, on that side of Durand Line, in seized checkposts of team 93000. Thanks everyone for participating in reporting the truth. Goodnight. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/7s3ShDavRh

— Fazal Afghan (@fhzadran) October 11, 2025

A one-page agreement and Pakistan's fate was shattered.

According to Cynthia Smith's book, A Selection of Historical Maps of Afghanistan: The Durand Line, published in August 2004, a one-page agreement was signed on November 12, 1893. This agreement contained seven short articles, including a commitment to non-interference beyond the Durand Line. This led to a joint British-Afghan border survey in 1894, covering approximately 1,300 km of the border. Pakistan once nurtured the terrorist organization Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is now giving Pakistan daily sleepless nights.

The Great Game of Britain and Russia led to a game with Pakistan.

The Durand Line is often referred to as the Great Game of Britain and Russia. This line established Afghanistan as a buffer zone between British and Russian interests in the region. It gave Afghanistan the Asmara and Chanak valleys, while ceding its claims to Waziristan and Chageh. It permitted arms imports from British India and increased Afghan subsidies from 1.2 million rupees to 1.8 million rupees. Pakistan inherited this line upon its independence in 1947, established by the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919.

Durand Line is one of the most dangerous borders in the world.

The Durand Line separates Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and the disputed Gilgit-Baltistan region of northern and western Pakistan from the northeastern and southern provinces of Afghanistan, according to a story titled "Why the Durand Line Matters" published in The Diplomat on July 29, 2019. It is considered one of the world's most dangerous borders from a geopolitical and geostrategic perspective.

The Durand Line also touches POK, where and how?

India shares a 106-kilometer border with Afghanistan, which runs through the Wakhan Corridor region of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). This border is demarcated by the Durand Line and is strategically important. Currently, Afghanistan does not officially recognize this international border with Pakistan. Instead, it has territorial claims to areas stretching from the Afghan-Pakistan border to the Indus River, encompassing approximately 60 percent of Pakistani territory.

Afghanistan started staking its claim up to the Indus River

According to The Diplomat, after the creation of Pakistan in 1947, Afghanistan demanded the right to self-determination for the Pashtuns living on the Pakistani side of the Durand Line. Unsurprisingly, both Britain and Pakistan rejected this. In response, the Afghan government began ignoring the Durand Line and instead began claiming the territory between the line and the Indus River.

Why Afghanistan does not accept the Durand Line

According to the National Geographic Society, Afghans also argued that the agreement that created the Durand Line was invalid because it was made under pressure from the British Empire, which had placed in power the ruler who accepted it. Some Afghan leaders argued that the Pashtun community should be governed within its own autonomous nation.

America distributed weapons to Pakistan and Afghanistan

These Afghan claims resulted in strained relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan. This impacted US-Afghan relations in the 1950s and 1960s. When Pakistan signed an arms deal with the United States, Kabul realized that the balance of power between Pakistan and Afghanistan had shifted in Pakistan's favor. Therefore, in the 1950s, Afghanistan also turned to Washington for military assistance and arms sales.

The entry of Afghanistan into Russia's camp changed the mathematics

The US demanded that Afghanistan join the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), of which Pakistan was a founding member, to improve its relations with Pakistan and contain the Soviet Union. Afghanistan, being located on the Soviet border, refused to do so. Meanwhile, Kabul needed modern weapons to counter Pakistan's growing military power. Therefore, it turned to the Soviet Union. Over time, this dependence on the Soviet Union grew. This began a period of turmoil in Afghanistan, and organizations like al-Qaeda became a major base.

Fierce war between Pakistan and TTP

Recently, Pakistan, enraged by Muttaqi's visit to India, carried out an airstrike on Kabul. After this, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) carried out a major suicide attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The Taliban attacked a police training centre in Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. According to Pakistani media, the TTP carried out a suicide attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in which at least 50 policemen are feared dead.

PC:NBT