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Vol.07 Issue01 2025
CITATIO N
Jasur U. Umirzakov. (2025). Evolution of Pakistan-Afghanistan relations
and its identity. The American Journal of Political Science Law and
Criminology, 7(01), 30
–
33.
https://doi.org/10.37547/tajpslc/Volume07Issue01-05
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of the creative commons attributes 4.0 License.
Evolution of Pakistan-
Afghanistan relations and
its identity
Jasur U. Umirzakov
Independent researcher at the University of Oriental Studies, Uzbekistan
Abstract:
This article describes the history and evolution
of relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, analysis
of political processes and development trends. Also, it is
focused on the analysis of the future perspective of the
relations based on the foreign political activities of the
two countries, the problems in their mutual relations,
the priority directions of cooperation and the happening
events.
Keywords:
Foreign policy, interstate relations, state
independence, state borders, national interest, the idea
of Pashtunistan, the Pashtun National Assembly, the
collapse of the USSR, NATO, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the
Taliban government.
Introduction:
Currently, the development trend of
relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan is complex
and unstable. It should be noted that most of the
problems that have arisen historically in the formation
of relations between the two states and that continue
to negatively affect interstate relations to this day are
directly related to the mutual border and border regions
of these states.
Although relations between the two countries were
established with the independence of the Islamic
Republic of Pakistan in 1947, historically formed
problems between Pakistan and Afghanistan continue
to have a negative impact on the development of
interstate relations.
At the heart of the problems between Pakistan and
Afghanistan lie historical factors and conditions that
arose during the colonial period. The most important of
these was the division of Afghan (Pashtun) territory into
two parts, one belonging to Kabul (the Kingdom of
Afghanistan) and the other to British India. The
formation of Pakistan, which included the eastern
Pashtun lands, led to problems in relations.
In the study of relations between the two countries,
based on the analysis of historical and political
The American Journal of Political Science Law and Criminology
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The American Journal of Political Science Law and Criminology
processes, relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan
were conditionally divided into seven main stages.
They are as follows:
The first phase
covers the 1940s and 1950s. During this
period, in the early years of independence, which was
achieved with the partition of British India, conflicts
erupted between the Pakistani and Afghan
governments in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (the
former North-West Frontier Province). The Afghan
government, refusing to recognize Islamabad’s
sovereignty over these territories, demanded that the
Pashtuns living in Pakistan be granted the right to self-
determination and the creation of an independent
state.
Since the Free Tribes Territory, where Afghan tribes
lived, had been incorporated into the newly formed
Pakistan, Afghanistan appealed to Pakistani officials for
a negotiated settlement. However, Pakistan ignored
Afghanistan's appeal and remained hostile towards
Afghanistan. As early as 1947, a number of Afghan
tribes launched an uprising against the new Pakistani
government. In July 1949, the Afghan parliament
discussed the issue between Afghanistan and Pakistan
and expressed its support for the Afghan tribes within
Pakistan [1]. The Afghan parliament also declared that
it would not recognize the Durand Line as a border
between the two states.
In August 1949, a meeting of the leaders of the Afghan
tribes living in Pakistan was held and the establishment
of an independent state of “Pashtunistan” was
declared. The Pashtun National Assembly was elected
and its flag was approved. In 1950, Pakistan threatened
to launch an armed attack on Afghanistan. The Afghan
government’s request for help from
the United States
to resolve this conflict also yielded no results.
The second phase
covers the years 1950-1970. During
these years, Pakistan largely overcame its initial
difficulties and significantly strengthened its economic
and military capabilities. Its main focus was on its
regional neighbor and rival India, which was taking
advantage of its ties with Afghanistan.
On September 30, 1950, Pakistani officials accused
Afghan forces of invading areas near the Baghra Pass.
The Afghan government denied this, saying that they
were tribesmen who supported “Pashtunistan”. The
then Afghan king Zahir Shah had expressed his friendly
attitude towards Pakistan in 1952. However, he had
emphasized that the issue of “Pashtunistan” could not
be ignored. The Pakistan-US military agreement signed
in 1954 had a negative impact on Afghanistan and
India. This led to the policy of bringing Afghanistan
closer to the Soviet Union [2].
The Afghan government recognized the unification of
the West Pakistani provinces, and on March 30, 1955,
Afghan protesters attacked the Pakistani embassy and
consulates in Kabul, Kandahar, and Jalalabad. Pakistan
responded by closing its border and imposing economic
pressure. Diplomatic relations were restored in
September of that year. In an effort to resolve the
Pashtun issue and restore ties, Iskander Mirza’s visit to
Kabul in 1956, and King Zahir Shah’s visit to Pakistan in
1958, restored transit opportunities on the Afghan trade
route. One of Pakistan's main goals was to appease the
Afghan Pashtuns and restore Afghan transit trade. [3]
Field commander Muhammad Ayub Khan met with the
then Afghan Foreign Minister Sardar Naeem to try to
resolve the issue peacefully. However, the failure of the
Ayub
–
Naeem talks in 1960 further worsened relations
bet
ween Pakistan and Afghanistan. Following Daoud’s
ouster, diplomatic relations between Pakistan and
Afghanistan were established in May 1963, mediated by
the Shah of Iran. Relations improved with the visits of
Pakistani President Ayub Khan to Kabul in 1964
–
1966.
During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, there was a
tendency for Afghan-Pakistani relations to warm up [4].
The third stage
covers the first quarter of 1970. In the
early 1970s, Afghanistan experienced a deep crisis in the
state system, and as a result of the events of 1971,
Pakistan lost its eastern province and became an
independent state of Bangladesh. Afghanistan became
an intermediate geopolitical space between the Arab
states, Iran, Pakistan, and the USSR. Since the mid-
1970s, the role of the Islamic factor in regional politics
has increased, which led to Pakistan's increasing
influence in the Islamic world and the use of Islamists as
a force against Kabul in its relations with Afghanistan.
Afghanistan tried to promote separatism, which
covered the western (Baluchistan) and northwestern
(Pashtun) provinces of Pakistan, but, based on the
demands of Iran and the United States, agreed to
negotiate with Pakistan [5].
The fourth stage
covers the period from the late 1970s
to the early 1990s. This period is considered the period
of the most acute confrontation between the two
neighboring states. The People’s Democratic Party of
Afghanistan, which came to power in Kabul, pursued a
policy that was ideologically the opposite of that of
Islamabad.
With the mediation of Iran and Turkey, there were some
signs of easing in relations between Afghanistan and
Pakistan.
In June 1976, Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto paid an official visit to Kabul. During the
negotiations, it was agreed to resolve the existing
problems in the future. In August 1976, Muhammad
Dawood paid an official visit to Pakistan. During the
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The American Journal of Political Science Law and Criminology
meeting, the parties stated that they would adhere to
the issues agreed upon in Kabul. In June 1977, Pakistani
Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto visited Afghanistan
again, and Muhammad Dawood visited Pakistan in
March 1978 [6]. Following the increase in state visits by
officials from both countries, a trend of improvement
can be seen in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations.
After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, relations
between the two countries changed dramatically. This
led to the United States and Saudi Arabia supporting
the Afghan insurgency. Pakistan became a major
supplier of American weapons, and Saudi Arabia
provided financial assistance to ethnic groups fighting
against the Soviet Union. Islamabad's war with the
Afghan government in Kabul and the formation of
Islamic mujahideen on Pakistani soil were successful
after the collapse of the USSR.
The fifth stage
in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations covers
the decade from the early 1990s to the early 2000s. By
this time, official Islamabad began to make serious
efforts to gain leadership in the region through Kabul,
and sought to use any favorable conditions for this. In
the early 1990s, the civil war in Afghanistan for
Pakistan destroyed all the positive aspects of its
geopolitical
situation.
Pakistan
used
all
its
opportunities as a bulwark against the Soviet
occupation of Afghanistan by Western countries. That
is, the fact that the Pakistani army was supplied with
economic and modern military equipment and
supported it under the pretext of supporting the
Afghan Mujahideen became an important factor in
Pakistan's development. Also, the fact that the
distribution of military and material assistance to the
Mujahideen and millions of Afghan refugees was under
the control of Islamabad became a major source of
income for Pakistan. Due to its status as a strategic ally
of the United States during the war in Afghanistan,
Pakistan equalized its position and military power in
the region with its arch-enemy India [7].
In late 1996, the Taliban established the Islamic
Emirate of Afghanistan and established close ties with
neighboring Pakistan. However, relations began to
deteriorate after the Taliban refused to support the
Durand Agreement, despite diplomatic pressure from
Islamabad. When the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
was overthrown and a new Afghan government was
formed, President Hamid Karzai began to repeat the
Taliban’s previous statement and did not recogni
ze this
border. Islamabad resolved the border issue along the
Durand Line in a way that was acceptable to it and
ultimately prevented the idea of an independent
Pashtunistan from being realized [7].
The sixth stage
began with the elimination of the
Taliban in Afghanistan and covers the period up to the
2014 presidential elections in Afghanistan. Pakistan's
influence on the neighboring country weakened
significantly during this period. The main influence at
this stage was exercised by the United States and its
NATO allies. As a result of the emergence of local Taliban
militants on its territory, Pakistan found itself in a crisis
situation and lost its ability to exert direct political
influence on Afghanistan. It began to indirectly
influence the political environment in Afghanistan by
providing shelter and assistance to the Afghan Taliban
and their allies. After 2001, Pakistan's importance
became extremely important from a strategic logistical
point of view in the context of the deployment of
international co
alition forces in Afghanistan. Pakistan’s
role as a transit area for goods imported into
Afghanistan was important.
The celebration of “Pashtunistan Day” as a national
holiday on August 31, 2003 made the Afghanistan-
Pakistan border a primary factor in the relations
between the two sides. This year, armed clashes took
place between the security forces of Afghanistan and
Pakistan in the border areas. The situation even reached
the point of searching the Pakistani embassy in Kabul
[8].
It was during this period that we could observe the
development and rapprochement of interstate
relations. In particular, as a result of the relations
between the two states, the Kabul Declaration on Good
Neighborliness was signed in 2002, the Agreement on
Transit Traffic between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in 2005, the
Agreement on the Establishment of a Trilateral Joint
Working Group on Strengthening Mutual Confidence
between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Islamic
Republic of Afghanistan in 2007, and the Memorandum
of Understanding on Cooperation in Combating
Terrorism between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The seventh stage
of interstate relations covers the
period from 2014 to 2021, when the Islamic Republic of
Afghanistan was overthrown and the Islamic State of
Afghanistan was declared by the Taliban.
After Ashraf Ghani was elected as president of
Afghanistan in 2014, bilateral relations improved. In
particular, Ashraf Ghani made his first foreign trip as
Afghan president to China, and during the trip, he asked
Beijing to mediate in the reconciliation process with
Pakistan. As a result, several meetings were held
between the foreign ministers of China, Pakistan, and
Afghanistan on the normalization of relations between
Pakistan and Afghanistan. During the talks, the
normalization of bilateral relations, political, economic,
defense, intelligence, and refugee issues were
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The American Journal of Political Science Law and Criminology
discussed.
Also, at this stage, the number of official state visits of
the heads of state has increased, normalization of
bilateral relations, peace and reconciliation, fight
against terrorism, return of Afghan refugees, border
problem, bilateral trade and further development of
regional relations were the main focus of negotiations
during the meetings.
The “Afgha
nistan-Pakistan Peace and Reconciliation
Action Plan [9],” signed during the visit of former
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Abbas to Kabul on
April 6, 2018, included norms such as both countries
taking effective measures against elements that
threaten national security, refraining from using their
territories against third countries, groups, networks,
individuals, and state elements, and committing to
combat them, not violating each other’s airspace usage
rules, and avoiding public accusations of each other.
Another of Islamabad's efforts at this stage is to
organize
negotiations
between
the
Afghan
government and the Taliban movement.
Following the decision of the US and its allies to
completely withdraw their military forces from
Afghanistan without any conditions, the Taliban
movement succeeded in capturing Kabul on August 15,
2021, as a result of several months of fighting and
clashes.
Experts say that with the overthrow of the Islamic
Republic of Afghanistan and the proclamation of the
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, relations between the
two countries will continue in a new format.
Based on this, the positive conduct of relations
between Pakistan and Afghanistan is an objective
necessity for ensuring and maintaining security not
only in the Middle East, but also in South and Central
Asia. From this point of view, it is of the utmost
importance to study the events taking place in Pakistan
and Afghanistan, which are neighbors of the Central
Asian countries, and to analyze their future prospects.
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