The Taliban have claimed that the situation on the border with Pakistan «is normal» following fighting in the area over the past few days, amid efforts by Kabul and Islamabad to contain the situation and prevent further instability.
«There are no more problems. The situation is normal. I hope there will be no problems in the border areas,» said the deputy spokesman of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Bilal Karimi, as reported by the Afghan television channel Tolo TV.
The clashes broke out on Tuesday in Dand-e-Patan district, where there was an exchange of fire between the Taliban and Pakistani security forces, with no casualties reported so far.
Karimi stressed that the Afghan authorities want to maintain «good relations with all countries, particularly with neighboring countries». Afghanistan and Pakistan have been involved in numerous battles around the border demarcation, known as the Durand Line.
In fact, the authorities of both countries agreed in January to form a joint ministerial committee to resolve disputes over the Durand Line, which stretches 2,640 kilometers and marks the border between the two countries.
The Durand Line was established in 1893 following an agreement between the then British Foreign Secretary in India, Mortimer Durand, and the Afghan Amir Abdur Rahman Khan to delimit spheres of influence.
Following Pakistan’s independence, Islamabad came to recognize it as its border with Afghanistan, although Kabul took no such step. This line divides the Pashtun and Baloch communities living on both sides of the border, which has led to disputes in both countries.
