On August 15, 2021, following the Taliban’s successful control of the Afghanistan Border, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed announced the closure of the Torkham border crossing. However, the closure lasted only a few hours before the crossing was reopened, allowing the resumption of bilateral trade.
Subsequently, Pakistan’s border security officials and representatives of the Afghan Taliban negotiated an understanding to permit the normal flow of goods trade, particularly trucks and containers carrying perishable food items. This decision reflects both pragmatic cooperation amid complex circumstances and Pakistan’s balancing of economic interests.
According to estimates by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are currently about 2.6 million Afghan refugees worldwide, with 1.4 million residing in Pakistan and another 1 million in Iran. For Pakistan, this massive refugee population significantly exacerbates its already heavy economic burden. Pakistan is grappling with high levels of public debt and relies on a $6 billion aid package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to maintain economic stability. Meanwhile, its domestic stock market is impacted by global economic fluctuations.
Against this backdrop, a renewed influx of Afghan refugees and the spillover effects of violent group activities—particularly damage to western urban areas and critical infrastructure—could severely hinder Pakistan’s economic recovery efforts and pose significant challenges to its reform agenda.
Over the past two decades, the Durand Line region along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border has become a hub for the Haqqani Network, Al-Qaeda, and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). These groups frequently carry out attacks in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, exacerbating regional instability. The Afghan government has long accused Pakistan of harboring the Afghan Taliban, which it claims undermines Afghanistan’s security. Conversely, Pakistan has expressed similar concerns over the Taliban providing sanctuary to the TTP within Afghanistan. This mutual blame further deteriorates bilateral relations, complicating border governance and security.
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In recent years, Pakistan and Afghanistan have frequently pursued and eliminated high-profile criminals on each other’s soil. For instance, in 2016, senior Taliban commanders confirmed that their supreme leader, Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, was killed in a U.S. drone strike near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Similarly, in 2018, TTP leader Mullah Fazlullah was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan’s Kunar province.
In response to numerous deadly attacks by extremist groups originating from Afghanistan in 2016, Pakistan began constructing a border fence along the Durand Line in March 2017 to enhance border security. Pakistan has also built nearly 1,000 border forts to strengthen its defensive capabilities.
The Pakistani military previously announced that the 2,611-kilometer-long Pakistan-Afghanistan border fencing project would be completed by the end of 2019, aiming to curb cross-border terrorist activities effectively. However, the Afghan government opposes the project, citing disputes over border delineation and concerns about the fence’s impact on local residents’ daily lives and inter-tribal connections.
Despite these challenges, Pakistan remains determined to proceed with the fence’s construction to safeguard national security and deter illegal cross-border activities.
Pakistan and Afghanistan face a complex situation in combating cross-border crime and terrorism. While the two sides have made progress in capturing high-profile criminals, border security remains a pressing issue. Pakistan’s border fencing initiative seeks to bolster security, yet it has also raised Afghan concerns, highlighting the challenges in border management and security cooperation.
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Despite slow economic growth, the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and a volatile security environment, Pakistan has largely continued border fencing construction over the past four years. To date, approximately 85% of the border fencing has been completed. Since 2007, Pakistan has conducted several large-scale military operations, including Operation Zarb-e-Azb and Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad, aimed at eradicating terrorist organizations in the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
However, the porous nature of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border has undermined the security gains from these operations, allowing militants to escape into Afghanistan. These militants regrouped within Afghanistan and resumed attacks on Pakistan. Since the launch of the border fencing project, cross-border militant activities have become more difficult, enabling the Pakistani government to achieve greater success in preventing attacks.
Notably, Pakistan hopes the border barrier will prevent the potential spillover of future Afghan instability onto its territory. If Afghanistan descends into chaos again, the fence could help reduce the influx of refugees into Pakistan. Moreover, the border fence aids in curbing the smuggling of drugs and weapons—illicit goods that sustain terrorist organizations in the region.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Afghanistan supplies 80-90% of the world’s opium, with about 45% of it trafficked through Pakistan to the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. However, the border fence has also posed new challenges for Pakistan. It negatively impacts the daily lives of families with relatives on both sides of the border and disrupts the livelihoods of cross-border subsistence farmers, some of whom are forced to sell their land at a one-time price.
Traders dependent on exporting food and other goods to Afghanistan have also been affected, as they now require visas to cross the border and must pay tariffs on agricultural products.
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To mitigate the negative impact of the border fence on local civilians, Pakistan has reached agreements with Afghanistan to establish joint trade markets along the border. Discussions on the specific locations and trade modalities of these markets are ongoing. Pakistan also plans to provide economic compensation to farmers with land on both sides of the border and issue long-term passes for families living along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
In conclusion, Pakistan’s border fencing aims to safeguard national security and mitigate the impacts of potential instability and illegal activities. However, this measure has complex implications for the lives and livelihoods of border-area residents. The Pakistani government is adopting various strategies to balance national security needs with the welfare of local populations.
Undoubtedly, the border fence provides Pakistan with a tactical buffer, reducing the frequency of cross-border attacks. However, lasting peace and security in the region can only be achieved when Afghanistan attains enduring stability and adequately addresses the demands of Pashtun tribes in the border areas. The Pashtun tribes’ complex social structure, traditionally organized around clans and tribal autonomy, emphasizes kinship ties and self-governance.
This traditional organizational form is prevalent in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border regions, where it has often been a source of conflict. The construction of the border fence risks disrupting the daily lives and traditional connections of these tribes, potentially deepening their grievances.
To achieve lasting peace in the border regions, it is essential to address the needs and interests of the Pashtun tribes. This includes respecting their traditional social structures, promoting economic development, and providing basic public services such as education and healthcare.
Simultaneously, the Afghan and Pakistani governments must strengthen cooperation to combat terrorism and cross-border crime, build trust mechanisms, and reduce misunderstandings and hostilities. Furthermore, the international community should actively participate by providing necessary financial and technical support to improve border-area infrastructure and living conditions. Through concerted efforts by all stakeholders, a stable and secure environment for the Pashtun tribes can be established, paving the way for regional peace and prosperity.
In light of the above analysis, while the border fence provides Pakistan with short-term security benefits, achieving long-term peace and stability requires resolving Afghanistan’s internal issues and addressing the needs of the Pashtun tribes in border areas. Only through comprehensive governance can lasting peace and security be realized in the region.
This article is a phased achievement of the National Social Science Fund Major Bidding Project, “Ethnographic Research and Database Construction of Countries Along the Belt and Road Initiative” (Project Approval Number: 17ZDA156).
Xiaoming Bai is a scholar at College of Humanities, Honghe University, Mengzi, P.R. China.
Chongwei Ma is professor at Southwest Frontier Minority Research Center,Yunnan University,Kunming ,P.R. China.
Wei Zong is a senior researcher Research Center for the Belt and Road Initiative, Honghe University, Mengzi, P. R. China.
