Pakistan's core issue is not India, 'the Board of Peace', or its participation in the resolution of the Palestinian conflict. Our core issue today is Afghanistan, its future, what we are doing about it and the solution that we seek to address the problem of Afghanistan. Two things got me thinking and writing about Afghanistan. The first was a recent piece on Afghanistan by Shahbaz Rana titled, 'Why Pakistan's border closure is squeezing Afghanistan's economy.' The second was a thought that has been buzzing in my mind for a while now — Is Afghanistan the Mexico of Pakistan? However, there are marked differences in how trouble shoots from Mexico and Afghanistan for the United States and Pakistan.

The Durand Line traces back to colonial-era decisions, cutting through tribal lands and dividing ethnic communities, but its legitimacy is contested by Afghanistan to this day. This makes the Pakistan-Afghanistan border more politically fraught than US-Mexico, which is internationally recognised by both governments. Many crossings at the US-Mexico border are driven by economic migration or pursuit of better living standards therefore it is more voluntary; migration across the Durand Line is often linked to conflict, displacement, refugees or militancy — thus it carries a very different humanitarian and security dimension. The Durand Line divides tribes and ethnic groups with deep kinship, so it is a hard border that threatens the social fabric. The Pakistan-Afghanistan border is deeply entangled with insurgency, terrorism, militant groups and insurgent sanctuaries — so border dynamics are not only about........

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