Afghan defence minister calls Durand Line ‘fictional’ amid border tensions with Pakistan

Afghanistan’s Defence Minister Mullah Yaqoob has described the Durand Line, the internationally recognized border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, as “fictional,” after both countries agreed to a ceasefire following days of deadly border clashes.

In a recent interview, Yaqoob claimed that the Durand Line is “imaginary” and “not official,” asserting that even the original document refers to it as an “imaginary border.”

His remarks were translated by a journalist, as he appeared to question the legitimacy of the border  in an interview and suggested that Afghanistan holds a claim over Pakistani territory.

This is not the first time Afghan officials have made such assertions regarding the Durand Line.

The long-standing border dispute once again gained attention when Qatar, the mediator in the recent ceasefire, reportedly omitted the word “border” from the official statement. a move many Afghans celebrated as a diplomatic victory.

Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have sharply escalated since October 11, when Kabul launched unprovoked cross-border attacks. Militants operating from Afghan soil also carried out multiple assaults against Pakistani forces.

In response, Pakistan conducted precision strikes targeting key Afghan border posts, which eventually forced Afghan troops to retreat and request a ceasefire.

Afghan officials argue that the border demarcation agreement signed in 1893 between Afghan Emir Abdur Rahman Khan and British Indian Foreign Secretary Sir Mortimer Durand was valid for only a hundred years, implying that it expired in 1993. Some Afghan political figures also claim the agreement lost its legitimacy after the end of British India in 1947.

In 1949, the Afghan Loya Jirga passed a resolution declaring the Durand Line a “bogus and fictitious” border, emphasizing the unity of Pashtuns living on both sides of the line.

However, historical records indicate that the 1893 agreement was valid during the lifetime of the signatory monarch, Emir Abdur Rahman Khan, and was later reaffirmed by his successor, Amir Habibullah Khan, in 1905.

After the Third Anglo-Afghan War, the peace treaty signed on August 8, 1919, in Rawalpindi by Afghan Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Khan officially recognized the Durand Line as a permanent international boundary, free from the earlier limitations of the original agreement.