A SORRY TALE OF THE EVER-PROBLEMATIC DURAND LINE: EXPLORING THE NATURE OF THE RISING VIOLENCE ACROSS PAKISTAN-AFGHANISTAN BORDER (2021-2025)

Abstract

The security situation in the South and Central Asian regions has been drastically transformed following the withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan in August 2021 as the Taliban once again captured the throne quite swiftly turning Afghanistan at the same time a hot zone of unrest making the development troublesome for the neighboring countries in general and for Pakistan in particular owing to the consequent enrichment of the operational capacity of the notorious guerilla outfits including Fitna al Khawarij (formerly known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)), and the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K). As a consequence of the increased militancy within the urban centers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan chiefly sponsored by these outfits, the relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan also transformed radically and both countries have recently (October 2025) been involved in small scale military engagements and skirmishes across the Durand Line while Pakistan occasionally attacking deeper into the Afghan soil and the situation has been turning more and more complex with every passing day. Accordingly, the current study explores the recent security and political developments alongside the Durand Line which are directly associated with the US withdrawal and the subsequent seizure of power by the Taliban Regime in Afghanistan. It finds that without permanently solving the issue of illegal crossings across the Durand Line and undertaking the negotiating process with Afghan authorities, a deep-rooted and long-lasting peaceful society within the state of Pakistan particularly in the neighboring regions of the Pakistan-Afghan border would be quite difficult to materialize.