Pak-Afghan relations and new imperatives

Pakistan and Afghanistan are two separate countries, linked by strong historical, religious, ethnic and cultural bonds. Despite some hiccups in the recent past, the relationship between the two countries remains as strong as ever.

Pakistan has hosted around four million Afghan refugees over the years. At the same time, it has provided educational support to Afghan students, training for Afghan armed forces personnel and medical facilities for common Afghan citizens. Islamabad also provides Afghanistan, a landlocked country, a trade corridor and trading facilities.

Recently, however, tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan flared up when Kabul objected to the border fencing within the Pakistan territory and the Afghan troops started firing on Pakistani posts and civilian population in Landikotal. Several Pakistani soldiers were injured while one officer was martyred. Due to the unexpected unfriendly action by the Afghan government, Pakistan was forced to send more troops to the border, which remained closed for around six days.  

There is no basis to the Afghan objections to the settled issue of the Durand Line. However, some resistance shown by a few Afghan academics and politicians exists. According to an IPS research paper on the subject: “Among the factors responsible for expansion of the dispute on the Durand Line is the lack of information available to the common Afghan. Afghan intellectuals and scholars have tended to blindly support the policy of former governments, unaware of whether or not it is rational. According to some scholars, Afghan governments have adopted this policy deliberately, to indulge the masses with an imaginary enemy and divert their attention from internal issues. Consequently, due to trust and confidence of people in their leaders, intellectuals and media besides the extension of the Durand Line issue; they have inferred that the agreement is free from any legal and moral justification. Thus, even if it desires friendly relations with Pakistan, the Afghan leadership is unable to take any steps in this direction owing to public opposition.” 

While the Durand Line is going to stay, Pakistan has to tackle the problem of terrorism emanating from Afghanistan. According to legal experts, Pakistan can lawfully fence its side of the border without Afghanistan’s consent by following “the precedence of the USA-Mexico border, which has been unilaterally fenced by the USA under the Secure Fence Act 2006. This has been deemed lawful under the international law since the USA as a sovereign state is entitled to protect its territory, integrity and national security through the implementation of immigration policy.”

The long and porous Pak-Afghan border requires more effective management for all infiltration to stop. However, it is an arduous task though not impossible. The Pakistan government has started fencing and construction of gates on the border; nobody should have objections to it, especially those sitting in Kabul.