Durand Line facts for kids

The Durand Line (in red) between Afghanistan and British India. It was named Mortimer Durand, a civil servant of colonial British India.

The Durand Line is the international 2,430-kilometre (1,510 mi) land border between Afghanistan and Pakistan in South-Central Asia. It was established after an 1897 memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Mortimer Durand of British India and Afghan Amir Abdur Rahman Khan. Referred to as a frontier line, it is named after Mortimer Durand, who was the Foreign Secretary of colonial British India at the time. Later, Abdur Rahman Khan's successor, Amir Habibullah Khan signed a new agreement with Britain which again confirmed the legality of the Durand Line. King Amanullah Khan also accepted Durand line as international border between Afghanistan and British India after signing the Anglo-Afghan treaty of 1919. Article 5 of this treaty, on the basis of which Afghanistan reclaimed its independence, says that Afghanistan accepted all previously agreed border arrangements with British India. Hence, Afghanistan as an independent country recognized Durand line as an international border.

The Durand Line cuts through the Afghan tribal areas, politically dividing ethnic Pashtuns and Baloch people who live on both sides. The line is internationally recognized by many countries as the western border of Pakistan, but Afghan governments after 1947 never recognized it.

Afghan Pashtun leaders claim Pakistani territories and say that the Durand Line is "an issue of historical importance for Afghanistan. The Afghan people, not the government, can take a final decision on it." However, non-Pashtuns Afghans have always recognized durand line as international border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Similarly, Pakistani Pashtuns have also recognized Durand line as international border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. In 2017 President Hamid Karzai said Afghanistan "will never accept" the Durand Line.

Images for kids

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  Arachosia and the Pactyans during the 1st millennium BC

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  Sir Henry Mortimer Durand, British diplomat and civil servant of colonial British India. The Durand Line is named in his honour.

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  Borki, a village at the border, with Mount Sikaram's peak in the background, the highest peak of the White Mountains

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  A view towards the border in Pakistan, taken in Paktia Province of Afghanistan

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  Afghan mujahideen representatives with President Ronald Reagan at the White House in 1983

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  CIA-funded and ISI-trained mujahideen fighters crossing the Durand Line to fight the Soviet-backed Afghan government in 1985

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  A U.S. soldier at Torkham border crossing, 2007

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  An MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle, one of a unit which is launched from Afghanistan to engage targets on the Pakistani side of the Durand Line

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  Afghan customs officials check travellers' passports at Torkham Gate in Nangarhar province

See also

In Spanish: Línea Durand para niños