Durand Line

The Durand Line (Pashto: د ډیورنډ کرښه‎, Urdu: ڈیورنڈ لائن‎) refers to the 2,640 kilometers (1,640 mi) long porous border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. It was established after an 1893 agreement between Mortimer Durand of British India and Afghan Amir Abdur Rahman Khan for fixing the limit of their respective spheres of influence. It is named after Mortimer Durand who was the Foreign Secretary of colonial British India at the time. The single-page Durand Line Agreement, which contains seven short articles was signed by Durand and Abdur Rahman Khan, agreeing not to exercise interference beyond the frontier Durand Line.

A joint British-Afghan demarcation survey took place starting from 1894, covering some 800 miles of the border. The resulting line later established the "Great Game" buffer zone between British and Russian interests in the region. The Durand Line cuts through the Pashtun tribal areas, dividing ethnic Pashtuns and Baloch who live on both sides of the border. It demarcates Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of western Pakistan from the eastern and southern provinces of Afghanistan. From a geopolitical and geostrategic perspective, it has been described as one of the most dangerous borders in the world. Although shown on maps as the western international border of Pakistan, it is unrecognized by the Government of Afghanistan.