Karzai: Afghanistan will never recognize formality of Durand Line

In a consultation meeting which was held by Afghan Research Center on reviewing the challenges of Durand Line, the outgoing President, Hamid Karzai said that Pakistan with its aggressive efforts would never achieve its goals in Afghanistan.

The former Afghan president Hamid Karzai declared that recognizing the Durand Line as a formal border line is impossible for Afghan people.

The Afghanistan–Pakistan skirmishes are cross-border shellings that have occurred since 1949 along the Durand Line between the Afghan National Security Forces and Pakistan military forces, paramilitary forces.

The latest hostility began in mid-2003 around Khost Province in Afghanistan and continued until 2013 after a dozen missiles were reportedly fired from Pakistan that killed an Afghan woman and wounded several others in the Kunar Province of Afghanistan.

The cross-border shellings intensified in 2011 and 2012 with many reports from different occasions claiming that Pakistani missiles have hit civilian areas inside Afghanistan’s Nuristan Province, Kunar Province and Nangarhar Province.

Karzai noted that Afghanistan has no problem with Pakistan but the neighboring country has always tried to be an obstacle for Afghanistan’s development and stability.

“Pakistan has always tried to persuade Afghanistan to accept Durand line as a formal border line but we want a civilized life and liberty to stand on our feet,” Karzai said.

Afghan ex-president emphasized that Pakistan involves in killing thousands of Afghan civilians and supporting the terrorism in our country and uses diverse methods to achieve its goals in Afghanistan.

“Afghan people are united and will never accept Pakistan’s demands. Pakistan must understand that it will not succeed to achieve goals with killing innocent people and supporting terrorists,” Karzai added.

Afghanland.com – The British presented a signed document with the person of King Abdul Rahman Khan in 1893 referring to the borders between Afghanistan and British India.

This document was in English and the person of Abdul Rahman Khan did not understand the English language, therefore leads the suspicious nature of forgery and or false documentation.

The argument between Afghanistan and Pakistan centers on the issue of Durand Line Agreement and its validity.

The Durand Line has been a source of contention between Afghanistan and Pakistan. On September 30, 1947, at the UN General Assembly meeting, Afghanistan even caste a vote against the admission of Pakistan to the United Nations.

International Law states that boundary changes must be made among all concerned parties; and a unilateral declaration by one party has no effect.

Pakistan is in illegal occupation of territories belonging to Afghanistan under false pretenses. To maintain its current territorial integrity, it is in Pakistan’s interest to have a weak and destabilized government in Afghanistan so there is no one to challenge the authenticity of the Durand Line Agreement.

Therefore, Pakistani intelligence agencies have provided shelter for members of Al-Qaeda and Taliban who are committing acts of terrorism within Afghanistan to destabilize the democratically elected government of Afghanistan.