Pakistan, Afghanistan & The Durand Line

Sir Henry Mortimer Durand


By Sikander Hayat

I believe that there are two main solutions which can help resolve the issue of Durand line between Afghanistan & Pakistan.

The first solution is that Afghanistan accepts Durand line. Both countries should remain in their boundaries and there are no more fights. But this solution is hard to sell to people on both sides of the border.

These are same people with same ethnic origin, same religion and same values.

The second solution is that Afghanistan and Pakistan form a confederation with no border checks so that people can cross over whenever they want. But people will only have the right to vote in one of the countries.

This means that it will have to be declared where the permanent home of an individual is and they can only vote in that country.

Pakistan and Afghanistan will keep their political entities intact but the free movement of people and finance will be guaranteed. Both countries will keep their separate armies, currencies and other arms of state. Although a joint foreign office will be an excellent but unlikely outcome.

We must not forget that there are more Pashtoon living in Pakistan then in Afghanistan so any right to vote for Pakistani Pashtoon in Afghanistan will brutally alter the power structure in Afghanistan by cornering Tajks, Uzbeks, Hazaras and other major minority groups in Afghanistan.

There seems to be a misconception about Afghanistan that it is a Pashtoon state, which is extremely wrong as Pashtoon make about 40% of the total Population with Tajiks, Uzbeks, Kirghiz, and Hazara as the other major groups in the country. Afghan demands for annexation of tribal areas is similar to Canada asking for the annexation of the northern USA because the same people live there as in Canada.

Pashtoon domination will create resentment in other stakeholders in Afghan population and may come to divide Afghanistan into Pashtoon and non Pashtoon areas.

The best possible option for both Afghanistan and Pakistan is to stop stoking flames in each others territories. The only durable option is to allow free movement of people across border and allowing Afghanistan access to Gwadar port.