We have never recognized Durand and will never recognize it, says Afghanistan's top Taliban leader

Speaking at a gathering in Logar on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the Soviet Union's withdrawal from Afghanistan, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai said that Afghanistan’s territory is still on the other side of the line, reported Tolo News.

He said the requirement of visas and passports to travel "to Afghanistan" is not acceptable to the Afghanistan people.

“We have never recognized Durand and will never recognize it, today half of Afghanistan is separated and is on the other side of the Durand Line. Durand is the line which was drawn by the English on the heart of Afghans. And today our neighboring country deports the refugees in a very cruel manner and they are being told to return to their country,” Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai was quoted as saying by the news portal.

What is Durand Line?

It is a 2,611-kilometre (1,622 mi) international border between Afghanistan and Pakistan in South Asia.

The western end runs to the border with Iran and the eastern end to the border with China.

The Durand Line was established in 1893 as the international border between the Emirate of Afghanistan and the British Indian Empire by Mortimer Durand, a British diplomat of the Indian Civil Service, and Abdur Rahman Khan, the Afghan Emir, to fix the limit of their respective spheres of influence and improve diplomatic relations and trade. The British Empire considered Afghanistan to be an independent state at the time, although they controlled its foreign affairs and diplomatic relations.