Every commentator, local or foreign, when analyzing the state of militancy in Afghanistan and Pakistan; invariably mentions the ‘porous border between the two states’. This adjective has become a constant fixture regarding the Durand Line. Each successive government in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the US, has pinned a significant amount of blame for the spread of militancy, on this border quality. Furthermore, there is festering mistrust between the trio, on the perceived inability or indecision, in fixing this issue. Yet every action taken to make this porous border less permeable is met with criticism from the Afghan side, despite being fully cognizant of the problem and its solution.
There has been a recent upsurge in Afghani criticism over the 460 km long trench being dug along the Balochistan section of the border by Pakistan. The 10 feet wide and 8 feet deep trench is to act as an impediment to free movement over the border.
Their contentions are historic; ones that demand consideration. Firstly, the Durand Line cuts through ethnic Pashtun and Baloch tribal lands. As a result families, sometimes whole villages, are divided on different sides of the border. The harsh mountainous region has never been physically demarcated and the tribes move about without paying any heed to the border. The Pashtun dominated afghan government has seen this as an infringement of the border tribe’s rights; claiming that it severs familial ties and leaves many individuals stranded, with land – and sources of income – on the other side. While this is a valid concern, it is this cross border familial link that facilitates militancy, with insurgents striking and retreating towards the other side, where law enforcement cannot pursue them. It is also responsible for upwards of two million dollars worth of trade through smuggling, in drugs, lumber, ore and consumer goods. It is well documented that the Haqqani network has sanctuaries in the Pakistani side of the tribal region while the TTP has sanctuaries on the Afghan side. A physical demarcation presents itself as the only solution, as the alternative is a vague border which has been the source of so much bloodshed and misery. Legitimate concerns regarding estranged family and enterprise can be easily addressed, frequent border crossings, with systems of biometric identification, a project that has already been started to an extent. The division of ethnic groups across administrative borders is a problem that the people of Africa and the sub-continent are well versed in, yet this collateral of the modern world is something that people are learning to live by.