The Durand Line is the term for the 2,640 kilometer (1,610 mile) border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. A kilometer (Commonwealth spelling: kilometre), symbol: km is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1,000 metres (from the Greek words χίλια (khilia) = thousand and μέτρο (metro) = count/measure). ... “Miles” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Border (disambiguation). ...

After reaching a virtual stalemate in two wars against the Afghans (see Great Game, First Anglo-Afghan War and European influence in Afghanistan), the British forced Amir Abdur Rahman Khan of Afghanistan in 1893 to come to an agreement under duress to demarcate the border between Afghanistan and what was then British India (now North-West Frontier Province (N.W.F.P.), Federally Administered Tribal Areas (F.A.T.A.) and Balochistan provinces of Pakistan). Ethnic groups of Afghanistan (1980 map)  42% Pashtun  27% Tajik  9% Hazara  9% Uzbek         3% Turkmen  2% Baloch        Languages of Afghanistan (1980 map)  50% Dari dialect of Persian  35% Pashto  8% Uzbek  3% Turkmen  2% Baloch        The Demographics of Afghanistan are ethnically and linguistically mixed. ... The Great Game is a term, usually attributed to Arthur Connolly, used to describe the rivalry and strategic conflict between the British Empire and the Tsarist Russian Empire for supremacy in Central Asia. ... Combatants Afghanistan British Empire Commanders Dost Mohammed Akbar Khan John Keane William Elphinstone Casualties 7,000+ killed & wounded 5,062 killed Afghan civilians = unknown British civilians = 12,000 killed The First Anglo–Afghan War lasted from 1839 to 1842. ... // It was not until 1826 that the energetic Dost Mohammad was able to exert sufficient control over his brothers to take over the throne in Kabul, where he proclaimed himself amir. ... Amir Abdur Rahman Khan Abdur Rahman Khan Abdur Rahman Khan (1844 - October 1, 1901), Emir of Afghanistan, was the third son of Afzul Khan, who was the eldest son of Dost Mahommed Khan, who had established the Barakzais family dynasty in Afghanistan. ... Anthem God Save The Queen/King British India, circa 1860 Capital Calcutta (1858-1912), New Delhi (1912-1947) Language(s) Hindi, Urdu, English and many others Government Monarchy Emperor of India  - 1877-1901 Victoria  - 1901-1910 Edward VII  - 1910-1936 George V  - January-December 1936 Edward VIII  - 1936-1947 George... The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) (Urdu: Å›imāl maÄ¡ribÄ« sarhadÄ« sÅ«ba شمال مغربی سرحدی صوبہ) is the smallest of the four main provinces of Pakistan. ... The Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) are areas of Pakistan outside the four provinces, comprising a region of some 27,220 km² (10,507 mi²). // The FATA are bordered by: Afghanistan to the west with the border marked by the Durand Line, the North-West Frontier Province and the Punjab... Balochistan, or Ballsforchinstan, Balochi, Pashto, Urdu: بلوچستان) is a province in Pakistan, the largest in the country by geographical area. ...

The Durand Line is named after Sir Mortimer Durand, the foreign secretary of the British Indian government, and the treaty also granted the Amir of Afghanistan (Abdur Rahman Khan) an annual salary from Britain along with shipments of weaponry. One of the two representatives of the Government of Afghanistan was the Ahmadi Sahibzada Abdul Latif of Khost. Mortimer Durand was the creator of the Durand Line, the border between Afghanistan and modern-day Pakistan. ... In recent years the politics of Afghanistan have been dominated by the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan by the United States and the subsequent efforts to stabilise and democratise the country. ... This article is about the Ahmadiyya branch of Islam founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. ... Khost, sometimes spelt Khowst, is a town in Afghanistan, located at 33. ...

The Durand Line is sometimes referred to as the "Zero Line". Excluding the desert portion southwest of 66 degrees 15 minutes east longitude, 84% of the line follows clear physical features (rivers or watershed divides). The precise route of the remaining 16% straight line segments is also demarcated from the 1894-95 demarcation reports and subsequent mapping such as the detailed (1:50,000 scale) Soviet maps of the 1980s. CCCP redirects here. ...

Territorial dispute

Afghanistan before the Durand agreement of 1893.

Afghanistan's loya jirga of 1949 declared the Durand Line invalid as they saw it as ex parte on their side (since British India ceased to exist in 1947 with the independence of Pakistan). This had no tangible effect as there has never been a move to enforce such a declaration due to long periods of constant wars with other neighbors in the region. And most importantly, there was no time limit mentioned in the Durand Treaty. Additionally, world courts have universally upheld uti possidetis juris, i.e, binding bilateral agreements with or between colonial powers are "passed down" to successor independent states, as with most of Africa. A unilateral declaration by one party has no effect; boundary changes must be made bilaterally. Thus, the Durand Line boundary remains in effect today as the international boundary between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and is recognized as such by most nations. Despite pervasive internet rumors to the contrary, US Department of State and the British Foreign Commonwealth Office documents and spokespersons have confirmed that the Durand Line, like virtually all international boundaries, has no expiration date, nor is there any mention of such in any Durand Line documents.^[1][2][3] The 1921 treaty expiration refers only to the 1921 agreements. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... [[Image:Loya_Jirga_2002. ... Ex parte is a Latin legal term meaning from (by or for) one party (pronounced ekss par-TAY or ekss par-TEE, although the proper Latin is Eks PAR-teh). An ex parte decision is one decided by a judge without requiring the plaintiff to be present. ...

Because the Durand Line artificially divides the Pashtun people, it continues to be a source of tension between the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Frequent press statements from 2005 to 2007 by Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf calling for the building of a fence delineating the Afghanistan/Pakistan border have been met with resistance from numerous political parties within both countries. Leaders of Pashtuns on both sides of the border do not recognize the Durand Line.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]} Pervez Musharraf (Urdu: ) (born 11 August 1943, Delhi) is the current President of Pakistan, Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army. ...

From 2003 to the present, Pakistani military patrols have established bases up to a kilometer or two onto the Afghanistan side of the boundary in the Yaqubi area opposite Pakistan's Mohmand Agency ^[13] and a few hundred yards inside Afghanistan near the border-straddling but Pakistan Frontier Corps-controlled bazaar of Angoor Adda (Angoor Ada) area of South Waziristan.^{[14] [15]} The agency was created in 1951 before which the Mohmand Tribes were administered by the Deputy Commissioner, Peshawar. ... South Waziristan (Urdu: جنوبی وزیرستان) is southern part of Waziristan a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering some 11 585 km² (4,473 mi²). It comprises the area west and southwest of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part...

See also

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Durand Line Agreement

• Radcliffe Line
• History of Afghanistan
• Third Anglo-Afghan war
• UTC+4:30
• Pakistan Standard Time

Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... The Radcliffe Line became the border between India and Pakistan in 1947. ... This article is about the history of the area that eventually became known as Afghanistan[1], a territory whose current boundaries were mostly determined in the 19th Century. ... The Rise of Dost Mohammad It was not until 1826 that the energetic Dost Mohammad was able to exert sufficient control over his brothers to take over the throne in Kabul, where he proclaimed himself amir. ... Pakistan Standard Time (PST) is the time zone for Pakistan. ...

References

External links

• Khyber.org - Text of the Durand Line Agreement, 1893
• All Along the Watch Tower (Peter Middlebrook)
• Fly-over of part of the Durand Line
• Border Complicates War in Afghanistan Washington Post April 4, 2008