Pedram says his party recognizes Durand Line as Pak-Afghan border

[Banglar Bir]

Quote "At that time Afghan hearts and minds were in favor of Pakistan. Now, it's not like that. US, India and allies have raised new brainwashed young nation, with poison filled against Pakistan in their minds. It's been 17 years now that they are poisoning the Afghans. Meanwhile Pakistani leadership is still like a hen sitting on eggs, unaware of anything in surroundings". Unquote.

In simple and logical terms, landlocked Afghanistan's future and integration in the new Global economic/technological world order lies entirely on Pakistan and partly Iran. "Durand line" or whatsoever one may term,is only a imaginary artificial creation by the Brits. The sooner the Afghans realize the reality, the better for them. The days of numerous Waring tribal warlord's fiefdom/poppy culture will crumble and disintegrate from within. high time to get out of their glass house, after all Afghans are Muslims and from a honourable, respectable, noble race. Availing the golden opportunists and benefits from joining CPEC, could be a real game changer for Afghans.

 

[Ahmad]

Interesting character. He also advocates changing the name of the country to Khorasan, which is fair enough. Imagine Pakistan being called Punjabistan or Sindhistan.

You cant really compare Khorasan to the names Panjabistan and Sindhistan. Khorasan doesnt imply to any individual ethnic group, this is a broad term for the that whole area.

This guy actually told in a press conference that those who try to talk about the Durand Line should abondan their claim as there is no valid claim over these territories. It belongs to Pakistan and it is an international border. He then was subjected to threats by Pashton lawmakers and analysts who called him Panjabi.

I can't think beyond his name, Pedram...what kind of name is this!
who would pay attention to what a guy name Pedram has to say

It's a persian name with different meanings: Happy, successful, good etc

It looks like he really annoyed you what he said.

 

[Kambojaric]

You cant really compare Khorasan to the names Panjabistan and Sindhistan. Khorasan doesnt imply to any individual ethnic group, this is a broad term for the that whole area.

This guy actually told in a press conference that those who try to talk about the Durand Line should abondan their claim as there is no valid claim over these territories. It belongs to Pakistan and it is an international border. He then was subjected to threats by Pashton lawmakers and analysts who called him Panjabi.


It's a persian name with different meanings: Happy, successful, good etc

It looks like he really annoyed you what he said.

I agree with this demand mate. What I meant was Afghanistan as a name is totally unfair for the 50 something percent of its inhabitants who are not Pashtun, given that Afghanistan literally means land of the Pashtuns. That is why I said imagine calling Pakistan Punjabistan, how unfair would that be to the millions of Pashtuns, Sindhis etc who live in Pakistan.

 

[xyxmt]

It's a persian name with different meanings: Happy, successful, good etc

It looks like he really annoyed you what he said.

like I said I dont read anything a guy name Padram says, sound like Childrnn cartoon character name

 

[Kabira]

Durand line comment sparks uproar in Afghanistan


PESHAWAR: Abdul Latif Pedram, a prominent Afghan lawmaker and the head of the National Congress Party, is facing backlash after he called for the recognition of the Durand Line as an official border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

On Sunday, Pedram told reporters in Kabul, “I once again announce that the Line is an international border and Afghanistan and Pakistan should respect each other and respect the border of each other and refrain from interfering in internal affairs of each other,” he was quoted as saying by the Voice of America’s Afghan service.

Pedram is also the leader of Afghanistan’s Tajik ethnic group.

Shortly after his statement, the Afghan senate witnessed a heated debated. “This is not acceptable to the people of Afghanistan. That side of the Line is our land and it belongs to us,” said senate speaker Fazel Hadi Muslimyar, as quoted by Tolo News, “if anyone has any kind of imagination in this respect, it is unacceptable.”

“There is not a single Pashtoon in Pedram’s party - this coward man,” said another senator.

The Durand Line, which runs over 2,000 km between Pakistan and Afghanistan, was first drawn up in 1893 under British colonial rule. Afghanistan disputes the legitimacy of much of the border.

Last month, Pakistan announced that it would be fencing off this northwestern border to prevent the infiltration of terrorists and smugglers from crossing over. Work on the barrier has already begun in the Bajaur and Mohmand districts of Pakistan’s federally administered tribal areas.

“Pedram is under immense pressure,” said Meelad, a Kabul-based freelance journalist, “Everyone in Afghanistan is demanding for him to take his statement back. It is a matter of serious discomfort here.”

Calls for a recognised border are in stark contrast to the popular opinion amongst lawmakers in Afghanistan. Hamid Karzai, the country’s former president, echoed the sentiment last month when he said Afghanistan would never accept the Durand Line as an international border. His statement was in response to Pakistan unilaterally closing the two main border crossings for 32 days, after a blitz of bombings in the country, which were traced back to militants in Afghanistan. Pakistan’s Prime Minister later reopened the Pak-Afghan border as a gesture of goodwill.

• 
  https://www.geo.tv/latest/136718-Durand-line-comment-sparks-uproar-in-Afghanistan

 

[Kabira]

...

Afghan Lawmakers Call for Stoning of Fellow Parliamentarian

ISLAMABAD —
Lawmakers in Afghanistan have called for stoning to death of a fellow parliament member for stating the country's long border with Pakistan is an international boundary.

Afghan commentators and newspaper editorials have also slammed the parliament member for speaking against "the national interest," with some demanding Abdul Latif Pedram's ouster from Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of parliament, for committing treason.

"You chant 'God is Great' through this microphone and I will stone him to death right here on the floor of this representative house," a member urged the house speaker while taking part in an evidently furious debate Monday.

FILE - Then-Presidential candidate Abdul Latif Pedram gestures as he speaks to supporters during a campaign stop at a stadium of western city in Herat, Afghanistan, Oct. 3, 2004.


The parliamentary proceedings were being televised live, as usual.

"For God's sake Mr. Speaker, if you don't take this action you will solely be held responsible," the angry lawmaker went on to warn Speaker Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi.

The punishment to the "spy," he said, will send a strong message to the people in Pakistan that any "agent" on Afghan soil will meet the same fate for even discussing the status of the Durand Line, the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Pedram, head of his Afghanistan National Congress party, told a news conference in Kabul during the weekend that his party recognizes the Durand Line as the official border with Pakistan. He went on to say that most of the problems plaguing bilateral relations stem from Afghanistan's failure to publicly acknowledge it.

Pedram is an ethnic Tajik, who hails from the northeastern Afghan province of Badakhshan, and was a candidate in the October 2004 presidential election. He was present in the house during Monday's proceedings.

Taking part in the debate, another lawmaker condemned Pedram as ignorant of Afghan "sensitivities."

"I swear to God that, from today onward, if any will dare indulge in such illegal statements and debates about the Durand Line, the nation would break his jaw," he said.

Durand Line

Controversial Durand Line

Speaker Ibrahimi, while responding to the demands, reiterated the Durand Line is a national issue and "no individual, certain tribe or a specific group" can decide on its status. He emphasized that the authority to make any decision with regard to the frontier rests only with Afghanistan's traditional assembly of elders, called the Loya Jirga.

Afghan leaders, mainly ethnic Pashtuns, have from the outset disputed parts of the nearly 2,600-kilometer, largely porous border demarcated in 1893 during the British rule of the Indian subcontinent and named after the then-Foreign Secretary Mortimer Durand.

Pakistani officials dismiss Afghan objections and maintain their country inherited the international border after gaining independence from Britain in 1947.

Islamabad has lately stepped up efforts to fence off the Durand Line and has built new security outposts as well as forts along the border in addition to fortifying five regular crossings, despite protests from Kabul.

Officials in Pakistan defend the border management measures, saying they will help deter terrorist infiltrations in both direction.

Mutual allegations of sponsoring terrorist attacks against each other are at the center of recent tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"Pedram should be questioned inside the parliament as well as in the court of public opinion, because this is a vital matter for the Afghan territory and nation," wrote the Afghanistan Times newspaper in an editorial. "Statements in favor of recognition to the Durand Line as a permanent border with Pakistan would be an insult to our martyrs. Territorial history and integrity cannot be compromised at any cost," it added.
http://www.voanews.com/a/afghan-lawmakers-call-stoning-fellow-parliamentarian/3794262.html

 

[Ahmad]

“Pedram is under immense pressure,” said Meelad, a Kabul-based freelance journalist, “Everyone in Afghanistan is demanding for him to take his statement back. It is a matter of serious discomfort here.”

• 
  https://www.geo.tv/latest/136718-Durand-line-comment-sparks-uproar-in-Afghanistan

I dont know where he had this from, but to say Everyone in Afgh, is a bad lie. There are miliions in the country who consider this so called line as settled border. This constant call for not recognizing the border will only put our relations with pakistan under strain, it is not good for anybody. If pashtuns of paksitan(or maybe most of them) are happy with pakistan then who the hell are the others to take that right from them.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.khaama.com/afghanistan-strongly-reacts-at-pakistani-violations-along-durand-line-02514

The Afghan government has strongly condemned the growing work by the Pakistani authorities along the Durand Line, calling it a unilateral move.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) spokesman Ahmad Shekib Mostaghni told reporters in Kabul today that Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) are ready to defend the national sovereignty of the country if the unilateral movements and violations continue by Pakistan along the Durand Line.

He said Pakistan has on numerous occasions violated the line, including in Nangarhar, Kunar, Khost, Paktia, Zabul, and Kandahar.

Mostaghni further added that the government of Afghanistan has always adopted diplomatic approaches to protest against the violations and the government has complained regarding the violations along the Durand Line to United Nations and United Nations Security Council.

He said the violations by Pakistan along the line included artillery shelling, air and ground maneuvers, closing of the routes, and installation of fences.

Mostaghani added that the Durand Line is a historic issue and the no government in Afghanistan can decide regarding it except the people based on the two sides of the line.


According to Mostaghni, the violations along the Durand Line are clear violations of the UN charter warning that the persistent violations could result into a resolution to be adopted against Pakistan.


He rejected that the issue of the Durand Line has ever been discussed during any summit and emphasized that the Afghan government’s main focus was on the list of the terrorists handed over to Pakistan during the London trilateral summit attended by the Afghan, Pakistani, and British officials.

This comes the eastern and southeastern parts of the country have long been under heavy artillery shelling from the other side of the border during the recent months as reports have emerged suggesting regarding the growing activities by Pakistani military to establish barriers and fences along the line.

 

[django]

Atta Muhammad, governor of Balkh stated something similar a few years back. I think time has come to cultivate some links with these fellows, nothing wrong with having a few extra balls in the air to play (use/manipulate) with.

 

[Thorough Pro]

Whether Afghanistan recognizes the Durand line as international border between Pakistan and Afghanistan or not, we do, and that is what matters.