Analyzing the role of the Great powers in creating the Durand boundary and its impact on Afghanistan-Pakistan relations consequences for Afghanistan and Pakistan

پژوهش ‎های جغرافیای سیاسی

Volume 6, Issue 4 - Serial Number 24, July 2021, Pages 1-20   

Document Type: مقالات علمی -پژوهشی

DOI: 10.22067/pg.2021.27297.0

Authors

seyed Hadi Zarghani^{* 1}; Fayyaz MazloumYar²

¹Associate Professor of Political Geography, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

²M.A. in Political Geography, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract

Abstract
The creation of countries based on borders is the product of the second half of the nineteenth century, and Afghanistan is one of the first countries to be established on this basis. Afghanistan's current political borders are imposed, largely influenced by the political struggles and rivalries of British and British power in Tsarist Russia in the 19th century and during the Great Game to prevent a direct confrontation between the two powers in Central Asia. They set up a barrier between themselves and established the country's political borders through several treaties. Meanwhile, the Durand Line and the issue of Pashtunistan are very important because the developments in Afghanistan after the signing of the Durand Line entered a new phase that over time and major changes such as Britain's withdrawal from the subcontinent and India's independence not only failed. With the advent of Pakistan and the conflict of interest between the two neighboring countries, the complexity of events has increased and continues to this day. The present study, using descriptive-analytical methods and citing reliable library sources, seeks to examine the role of major powers such as Britain and Russia in shaping Afghanistan's political borders, especially the Durand Line, and its negative consequences for Afghanistan and its role in creating differences between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The results show that regional and supra-regional powers, especially Britain, played a role in shaping Afghanistan's borders, and Durand's mystery is one of the leftovers of British-Indian colonialism, which has now become a source of discord between Afghanistan and Pakistan and its negative consequences. To Afghanistan has included land closures and lack of access to open waters, support and rise of political instability in Afghanistan, global insecurity, the collapse of the social system, and so on.

Keywords

Border; Border Disputes; Durand . Afghanistan. Russia; . UK

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