November12, 1893
The Durand Line, the 2,250-kilometre (1,400 mi) long border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, was established by agreement between Sir Mortimer Durand, a British diplomat and civil servant of British India, and Abdur Rahman Khan, the Afghan Amir, to fix the limit of their respective spheres of influence and improve diplomatic relations and trade. The Durand Line cuts through the Pashtun tribal areas and further south through the Balochistan region, politically dividing ethnic Pashtuns, as well as the Baloch and other ethnic groups, who live on both sides of the border. The border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan has long been one of the most dangerous places in the world; it continues to be a source of tension between the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
