Bashy Quraishy
Secretary General – European Muslim Initiative for Social Cohesion – Strasbourg
Thierry Valle
Coordination des Associations et des Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience, CAP Freedom of Conscience
Over a century after the Durand Line was established by British imperial authorities, the contested border between Pakistan and Afghanistan has again erupted into conflict. The appearance of a sudden war is actually the result of decades of unresolved issues—colonial borders, militant movements, regional rivalries, and a fragile state system unable to manage them.
When hostilities broke out between Pakistan and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan on 27 February 2026, many saw it as a shocking escalation. In fact, it was anything but sudden. At the heart of it all is a colonial boundary on the map.
For decades, the frontier between the two countries has been one of the world’s most volatile borders. It is a line drawn by empire, challenged by nationalism, exploited by militant groups, and caught in the rivalries of regional powers. The present conflict is less a new war and more the violent return of a century-old dispute.
The British Border That Never Settled
The crisis dates back to 1893, when the British Empire sought to secure its north-western frontier in India. British diplomat Mortimer Durand negotiated a border agreement with Afghan ruler Abdur Rahman Khan.
The line they drew—now known as the Durand Line—cut through the traditional lands of the Pashtun tribes, dividing communities between Afghanistan and what was then British India. For the British, the line served as a strategic buffer against imperial rivals. For the tribes it separated, it held no significance. And for Afghanistan, it would later symbolize colonial injustice.
When Pakistan was created from the partition of British India in 1947, it inherited the Durand Line as its international border. However, Afghanistan never fully recognized it. Kabul claimed that the agreement was imposed by a colonial power and that the Pashtuns along the frontier should decide their own political future.
The dispute tainted relations from the start. Afghanistan was the only country to vote against Pakistan’s entry into the United Nations in 1947—a symbolic act foreshadowing decades of mistrust.
Cold War Alliances and the Refugee State
Despite the hostility, Pakistan soon became Afghanistan’s lifeline. When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, millions of Afghans fled across the border. Pakistan suddenly became the center of one of modern history’s largest refugee crises. At its peak, around three million Afghans lived in Pakistan. Many stayed for decades. Entire generations were born and raised in refugee camps and cities like Peshawar and Quetta.
Pakistan also became the logistical heart of the anti-Soviet resistance. With support from the Central Intelligence Agency and funding from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan aided the Afghan mujahideen. However, the infrastructure created for that war—training camps, militant networks, ideological madrassas—did not vanish post-Soviet withdrawal. Instead, they evolved. From this environment emerged the movement that would later dominate Afghanistan.
The Rise of the Taliban
In the chaos of Afghanistan’s civil war during the 1990s, a new force emerged: the Taliban. The group was largely made up of Afghan students educated in religious schools in Pakistan’s border regions. Offering order after years of warlord violence, they seized Kabul in 1996 and established an Islamic emirate. Pakistan was among the few countries to recognize the Taliban government. The relationship was driven by strategic calculations: Islamabad hoped a friendly government in Kabul would provide strategic depth in its longstanding rivalry with India. However, regional geopolitics soon complicated this scenario.
India’s Quiet Battlefield
For decades, Afghanistan has also been a stage for the rivalry between India and Pakistan. During the Afghan republic set up after the 2001 overthrow of the Taliban, India heavily invested in Afghan infrastructure, diplomacy, and development projects. New highways, the Afghan parliament building, and numerous hospitals and schools were built with Indian aid. Pakistan viewed this growing presence with deep suspicion, fearing India could use Afghan territory to support separatist or militant groups within Pakistan.
Islamabad repeatedly accused Indian intelligence of backing insurgent networks in Pakistan’s western provinces—allegations India consistently denied. Whether exaggerated or not, the perception of encirclement shaped Pakistan’s security thinking. Afghanistan was never just a neighbor; it was part of the broader strategic contest between South Asia’s two nuclear-armed rivals.
When Allies Become Adversaries
When the Taliban reclaimed power in 2021 after NATO’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, many in Pakistan expected relations to improve. Instead, the opposite occurred. The central issue was the rise of Tehrik‑i‑Taliban Pakistan, known as TTP. Though ideologically aligned with the Afghan Taliban, TTP focuses on overthrowing the Pakistani
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