00:00The border between Afghanistan and Pakistan has been a flashpoint during confrontations
00:08between the South Asian neighbors, most recently during deadly clashes in October 2025. The
00:16Taliban administration, like previous Afghan governments, does not recognize the border
00:21known as the Durand Line, describing it as imaginary. However, Islamabad maintains that
00:28the frontier demarcation is recognized internationally.
00:38The Durand Line is named after British diplomat Sir Mortimer Durand, who drew the boundary in
00:44the late 19th century with the agreement of Afghan authorities of the day. Stretching more
00:50than 2,600 kilometers across mountainous terrain, from Iran in the southwest to China in the northeast,
00:57it divides Pashtun communities, the ethnic group from which the Taliban largely draws its
01:03support, and cuts off Afghanistan from the sea. The border is highly porous, with some buildings
01:09straddling both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Islamabad has built trenches and fenced most of the border,
01:16the border, a move Kabul has repeatedly condemned.
01:27Millions of Afghans have lived in Pakistan for decades, many without documentation. Large numbers
01:33have been expelled or forced to return in recent years. Around 500,000 Afghans have returned from
01:40Pakistan in 2025 alone, according to the United Nations. Six official crossing points exist,
01:48but many use informal roads. The border is also a vital commerce artery. Pakistan is Afghanistan's
01:55largest trading partner, and trucks routinely carry goods such as fruit and vegetables across. The
02:01Afghanistan-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce estimates losses at around 50 million dollars since the
02:08border's closure on October 12th. Only Afghan migrants returning from Pakistan are currently allowed to cross.
02:15security concerns have intensified since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021. Pakistani airstrikes
02:30in Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province in December 2024, targeting what Islamabad described as
02:38terrorist hideouts, reportedly killed nearly 50 people. Pakistan accuses Kabul of sheltering
02:45armed groups, especially the Pakistani Taliban, that launch attacks from Afghan soil. The Afghan
02:51Taliban denies harboring such groups and rejects the border itself, calling it a colonial relic.
02:58Taliban defense minister Mohammad Yaqub objected when Qatar referred to the border in its October 19
03:05ceasefire announcement, which Afghan officials linked to the Durand line. Yaqub told a news conference it
03:12will never be called a border. The October clashes, which began with explosions in Kabul and prompted a
03:26retaliatory border response from Afghanistan, killed more than 70 people and wounded hundreds in the ensuing
03:33violence. A ceasefire brokered by Turkey and Qatar has largely held, but negotiations in Istanbul last week
03:41failed to produce a lasting agreement. Talks are going to resume, but both sides have warned that failure to
03:47reach a deal could lead to renewed fighting.
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