Afghan Taliban-appointed Defense Minister Yarullah, in an interview with Tolo News, stated that the Durand Line, the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, is a fictitious line. The Taliban currently does not have the capacity to modify this line, but they will definitely do so when the time is right, and now the Taliban needs to wait for the right moment. Although Yarullah has a big beard, he is actually a 90s-born person. He is the eldest son of the founder of the Taliban, Mullah Muhammad Omar.

The Durand Line was drawn in 1893 by Mortimer Durand, the British Indian Foreign Secretary, and representatives of the then Afghan King Abdur Rahman. It is about 2,640 kilometers long, aimed at demarcating the boundary between British India and Afghanistan. This boundary line is a product of the British colonial era.

There were political considerations behind the British drawing of this line: by dividing the areas where the Pashtun people live (part of which was included in British India, i.e., present-day Pakistan, and the other part remained in Afghanistan), it aimed to weaken the power of the Pashtun people, create regional conflicts, and thus facilitate colonial rule. Therefore, from the beginning, this line has been controversial, and many Afghans view it as an unfair line imposed by British colonizers.

Afghan governments have never officially recognized the Durand Line as a legitimate international boundary. For example, when Pakistan applied to join the United Nations in 1947, Afghanistan opposed it due to its objections to the Durand Line and the issue of Pashtunistan. Pakistan's position is very clear; it insists that the Durand Line is a legitimate international boundary. Pakistan believes that as one of the main heirs of British India, this boundary is a fait accompli. The issue of the Durand Line has therefore become a long-standing sore point in relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, leading to frequent friction in border areas.

Original text: www.toutiao.com/article/1846243548740619/

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