| The Durand
Line was demarcated by the British and signed into a treaty in 1893 with
the Afghan ruler Amir Abdur Rehman Khan. The treaty was to stay in force
for a 100-year period. According to Afrasiab Khattak, a political analyst,
the areas from the Khayber Agency Northwards to Chitral, however, remained
un-demarcated.
This disputed land was legally to be returned to Afghanistan in 1993
after the 100 year old Durand Treaty expired, similar to how Hong Kong was
returned to China. Kabul has refused to renew the Durand Line treaty since
1993 when it expired, Throughout the last nine years, Pakistan has tried
to get Afghan Warlords and Taliban to sign a renewal contract of the
Treaty, and thankfully they didnt not fall for the treachery of Pakistan.
One of the reasons Pakistan faced problems with the Kabul rulers right
from its inception was Kabul's claim over the North West frontier
Province. (NWFP) Kabul never accepted that line or the fact that the NWFP
is part of Pakistan. This was one of the main policy planks used by
President Daoud Khan's government when it tried to foment trouble by
Pashtoons nationalists in the NWFP on the issue of greater
Pashtoonistan.
Until this day, the disputed land which rightfully and legally belongs
to Afghanistan, is still recognized as the North-West Frontier Province,
NWFP. Every other province in Pakistan is named by the ethnic group that
resides there, such as Punjab, Sindh, and Balouchistan. But the ethnic
Afghans that are forced under the sovereignty of Pakistan must accept the
degrading and purposely named NWFP.
Afghanistan
History |