Afghan Politician and Scholar Haji Amanullah Safi Addresses Brussels Conference on the Controversial Durand Line Border

Safi Calls for the Recognition of the Durand Line as a Fake and Invalid Line and Urges a Peaceful Resolution to the Dispute Between Afghanistan and Pakistan

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, February 22, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Also Haji Amanullah Safi, an Afghan politician and scholar, spoke at the conference of Chairman Andy Vermaut of the World Council for Public Diplomacy and Community Dialogue on February 17, 2023 in Brussels. In his speech, he discussed the Durand Line, a 2,640-kilometer-long border between Afghanistan and Pakistan that has not been accepted by the government of Afghanistan or the tribes living on both sides of the line.

Safi explained that the Durand Line was imposed on Amir Abdul Rahman Khan of Afghanistan by force because he was facing threats from Russia to the north of Afghanistan and British India to the south. The line was named after Henry Mortimer Durand, the Deputy Secretary of State for British India, and was agreed upon in 1893 by Amir Abdul Rahman Khan and Henry Mortimer Durand. The line was drawn by British India in an imaginary landmark survey and has been a subject of controversy between Afghanistan and Pakistan ever since. Safi emphasized that the Durand Line is not considered an international border and was never intended to be permanent, according to the seven-article agreement between Amir Abdul Rahman Khan and Henry Mortimer Durand. He argued that the Durand Line is a colonial line and a force-accepted line that is never acceptable to the Afghan people. Safi believes that the international community, including the United Nations, should recognize the Durand Line as a fake and invalid line, and that the Afghans should peacefully return to their original geography. In his speech, Safi appealed to the international organizations, countries, and the United Nations Organization to take a closer look at the issue of the Durand Line and its impact on the Afghan people. His passionate plea for peace and understanding between Afghanistan and Pakistan was well-received by the conference attendees, who praised his efforts in bringing this important issue to the forefront of the public discourse. Chairman Andy Vermaut thanked Haji Amanullah Safi for his enlightening speech and encouraged everyone to continue the dialogue on this complex issue. The conference ended on a positive note, with the hope that there will be a peaceful resolution to the Durand Line dispute in the near future.

Durand Line is not accepted
The Durand Line, which is a 2,640-kilometer long border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, has not yet been accepted by the government of Afghanistan itself, nor by the tribes living on both sides of the line. This line was imposed on Amir Abdul Rahman Khan of Afghanistan by force because he was facing threats from Russia to the north of Afghanistan and British India to the south. So, Abdul Rahman Khan considered it necessary that the rest of Afghanistan could remain in peace, in view of the effect of the restrictions on their territories by the British Indian government and the then Amir of Afghanistan, on October 12, 1893. Later, at the same time, this line was named after Henry Mortimer Durand, the Deputy Secretary of State for British India. This one-page agreement, which had seven short articles, was agreed upon by Amir Abdul Rahman Khan and Henry Mortimer Durand. According to the terms of this agreement, the Government of British India would never interfere in the areas beyond this line towards Afghanistan, and the Amir would never interfere in the areas beyond the line towards British India. In addition to not interfering with British India, after 1894, British India began an imaginary landmark survey that drew a line of about 2,640 kilometers, which resulted in the Durand Line being one of the great games. The independent region was created for the benefit of England and Russia. It has been 129 years since the agreement was completed, so when Britain logically withdrew from it and India was divided, England should have surrendered our land, our property, and the rest of our geography to Afghanistan.

No agreement regarding the border with Pakistan
Afghanistan does not have any agreement regarding the border with Pakistan created by the British. In the Durand Line agreement, this line is not considered an international border. It is named after Amir Abdul Rahman. The forced agreement between Amir and Henry Mortmar Durand, Secretary of State for British India, contained seven articles. Nowhere in this agreement is the Durand Line mentioned as a permanent border, but all its material appears in the organization and division of the territories on this line between British India and Amir Khan at that time. In this seven-article agreement, once the point of "frontier line", once of "boundary", five times of "frontier", once of "boundary line" and once of "border", all these contradictions and ambiguity of this agreement have been saved. Indicating temporality, modern history comes to a point where the British researcher Harris writes in his doctoral thesis in London: "In fact, the only evidence of [Durand's] agreement on the division of a nation is the line that It has been removed on the agreement map, and Amir [Abd al-Rahman] has not signed this map, so far this fake and fictional line has not been recognized by the previous governments of Afghanistan and therefore the international community including the United Nations. The society always negotiates and compromises between the two sides to reach a final decision on this matter.

Line not recognised by previous Afghan governments
And there is no provision in the 7 articles of this agreement that this agreement is to continue for a hundred years and is also bound only for the lifetime of Amir Abdul Rahman, and after his death, this agreement is defective and invalid. After him, his son, Amir Habibullah Khan, came to power. At that time, Lord Curzon, who was in India, sent a proposal to Amir Habibullah Khan that this agreement should be renewed,.Moreover, the Durand Line is considered a controversial issue between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the speaker stressed that the line was not recognized by previous Afghan governments and is not considered an international border. In the Durand Line agreement, it is not mentioned as a permanent border, and there is no provision in the seven-article agreement that it is to continue for a hundred years. The Afghan government has always considered the Durand Line a colonial line and a forced acceptance line that is never acceptable to the Afghan people. The speaker emphasized that the international community, including the United Nations, should regard this line as fake and invalid and that the Afghans should peacefully return to their original geography. The speech shed light on the controversial issue of the Durand Line between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The speaker's clear and passionate delivery of the topic was insightful and thought-provoking. The World Council for Public Diplomacy and Community Dialogue, under the leadership of Chairman Andy Vermaut, was pleased to have such an esteemed speaker address the conference.

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