Islamabad [Pakistan], February 18 : Taliban-appointed Deputy Foreign Minister Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai has called unity among Pashtun tribes in Pakistan crucial for their freedom, The Balochistan Post reported. He said that the Durand Line has divided half of Afghanistan from them and added that they have never accepted the Durand Line as a legitimate border and will not do so in the future.
Stanikzai called it an imaginary line drawn on the hearts of Afghans. In his public address at a community gathering in Afghanistan's Logar, he accused Pakistan of forcefully expelling Afghan migrants in an extremely oppressive manner and insisting they return to their homeland.
Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai said that the land of Pashtuns does not belong to Pakistan and spoke about the unjust treatment of migrants, according to The Balochistan Post report. He asserted that the visa and passport systems have never been accepted and that the Durand Line cannot be enforced upon these Pashtun tribes.
He warned that such atrocities could result in events similar to the 1971 separation of Bangladesh from Pakistan and stressed that Pashtun tribes would unite for their freedom, The Balochistan Post reported.
The issue of the Durand Line remains highly sensitive in Afghanistan, with local residents considering it not as an international border but as a temporary line regarding the land on both sides. Afghanistan does not consider the Durand Line as an international border, according to The Balochistan Post report.
The border, spanning over 2600 kilometres between Pakistan and Afghanistan, includes over 1100 kilometres shared with Balochistan. In the past, Pakistani authorities tried to resolve the Durand Line issue with the Taliban-led government, calling for its international border recognition, according to the report. However, the Taliban-appointed government did not accept it at that time and the issue remains unresolved.
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