KABUL: The border between Afghanistan and Pakistan has been a flashpoint during confrontations between the South Asian neighbors, most recently during deadly clashes in October.
The Taliban administration, like previous Afghan governments, does not recognize the border known as the Durand Line, describing it as “imaginary.”
However, Islamabad maintains that the frontier demarcation is recognized internationally.
Here’s what you need to know as talks resume in Turkiye to firm up a fragile truce:
What is the Durand Line?
The Durand Line is named after British diplomat Sir Mortimer Durand, who drew the boundary in the late 19th century with the agreement of Afghan authorities of the day.
Stretching more than 2,600 kilometers (1,600 miles) across mountainous terrain, from Iran in the southwest to China in the northeast, it divides Pashtun communities, the ethnic group from which the Taliban largely draws its support, and cuts off Afghanistan from the sea.
The border is highly porous, with some buildings straddling both Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Islamabad has built trenches and fenced most of the border, a move Kabul has repeatedly condemned.
Who crosses the border?
Millions of Afghans have lived in Pakistan for decades, many without documentation. Large numbers have been expelled or forced to return in recent years.
Around 500,000 Afghans have returned from Pakistan in 2025 alone, according to the United Nations.
Six official crossing points exist, but many use informal routes.
The border is also a vital commerce artery. Pakistan is Afghanistan’s largest trading partner, and trucks routinely carry goods such as fruit and vegetables across.
The Afghanistan-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce estimates losses at around $50 million since the border’s closure on October 12.
Only Afghan migrants returning from Pakistan are currently allowed to cross.
What fuels the tensions?
Security concerns have intensified since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.
Pakistani air strikes in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province in December 2024, targeting what Islamabad described as “terrorist hideouts,” reportedly killed nearly 50 people.
Pakistan accuses Kabul of sheltering armed groups — especially the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) — that launch attacks from Afghan soil.
The Afghan Taliban denies harboring such groups and rejects the border itself, calling it a colonial relic.
Taliban Defense Minister Mohammed Yaqub objected when Qatar referred to the border in its October 19 ceasefire announcement, which Afghan officials linked to the Durand Line. Yaqub told a news conference it “will never be called a ‘border’.”
What’s next?
The October clashes, which began with explosions in Kabul and prompted a retaliatory border response from Afghanistan, killed more than 70 people and wounded hundreds in the ensuing violence.
A ceasefire brokered by Turkiye and Qatar has largely held, but negotiations in Istanbul last week failed to produce a lasting agreement.
Those talks are set to resume on Thursday.
Both sides have warned that failure to reach a deal could lead to renewed fighting.
