Report: Karzai Blames British Imperialism for Pakistan, Afghan Border Skirmishes

AhlulBayt News Agency - Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai has blamed British imperialism following recent skirmishes between Pakistani and Afghan border guards.

Karzai has said Afghanistan has never accepted Durand Line as border between Afghanistan and Pakistan and will never accept it in the future. According to Khaam news, he termed the formation of Durand Line a ‘result of British imperialism’ in the region.

He said Afghanistan has never accepted this border since 1893, nor will they ever accept it in future.

“When Pakistan came into being in 1947, they received it this way, so we are not blaming them but Durand Line is a blow which no Afghan can ever forget. We do not accept this border but will not fight over this issue,” Karzai added.

Four people were killed in the fighting on Sunday, an escalation of the dispute over Pakistan's plan to build a barrier at the crossing to reportedly stop militants coming in from Afghanistan.

That plan has angered Afghanistan which rejects the colonial-era Durand Line border drawn up in 1893 and does not want a solid recognition of the boundary.

Afghanistan, struggling to contain a stubborn insurgency led by Taliban militants, blames Pakistan for harboring fighters and allied networks on its territory.

Pakistan denies it supports militants, and says it is building the gate at Torkham to stop the movement of militants coming the other way, from Afghanistan.

Pakistan's top foreign policy official, Sartaj Aziz, told parliament on Thursday that Afghan forces had started the clashes.

"There has been no aggression or provocation by Pakistan," Aziz said.

Afghan officials, however, blame Pakistan.

"The past three times, Pakistani forces attacked us, and our forces were in a defensive position and defended themselves and our soil," said Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for Afghanistan's Nangarhar province where Torkham is located.

In other parts of the interview, Karzai said Pakistan does not want good relations between India and Afghanistan and wants “no bilateral trade and no access to Central Asia for India” which is unacceptable for Afghanistan.

Karzai further added that India is helping Afghanistan build its infrastructure and health facilities and has “filled Afghanistan with money despite being a poor country”.

“India wants to truly befriend Afghanistan and we want Pakistan to do the same,” he said, adding that Pakistan should also become a part of the regional coalition between Afghanistan, India and Iran, but “Pakistan’s condition is that Afghanistan should not have contacts with India.”

According to Karzai, the relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan will improve rapidly if the issue is resolved.

Meanwhile Pakistan has played down the recent skirmishes ‘instigated by enemies’ on the Pak-Afghan border while stressing the need for improved border management controls amid growing tensions between Kabul and Islamabad.

Defense Minister Khawaja Asif while briefing the upper house of parliament on Thursday said Islamabad wanted brotherly relations with Kabul despite on-ground grievances.

“We have no dispute with Afghanistan,” he said. “The enemies of Pakistan do not want it to progress neither do they want it to live in peace with Afghanistan and they are playing an effective role in doing just that.”

Afghanistan's ambassador in Islamabad, Omar Zakhilwal, accused Pakistan of reneging on ceasefire terms that he said included halting construction of the gate.

Zakhilwal later met senior Pakistani officials, including the army chief, and agreed the Afghan side would allow construction of the gate to regulate movement of people and traffic across the border.

In his weekly briefing, the foreign office spokesperson confirmed both sides were in touch at diplomatic and military levels “to address the tension and communication gaps”.

“Afghanistan is our neighbor and we have a special relationship with it rooted in religion, common culture as well as the fraternal bond between the people of the two countries,” Nafees Zakaria said.



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