The public sentiment regarding the Pakistan-Afghanistan border tensions is largely negative, with significant frustration directed towards Pakistan's historical and current political actions, especially its connections with the Taliban. Many commenters express distrust and blame between the two nations, coupled with skepticism towards media reporting and geopolitical motivations. Conversations reveal historical grievances, cultural and ethnic tensions, and a strong emphasis on the struggles faced by Afghan refugees. Calls for peace and unity exist, but are overshadowed by distrust and a critical view of political maneuvers. Additionally, there is significant support for Balochistan's independence, adding another layer of regional discontent.

Pakistan Government

Afghanistan Government

Taliban

Balochistan Independence Movement

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Where do the big geopolitical players fall, and who is Albania aligned with, and aiming to strengthen ties with?

IE if they’re trying to forge a stronger relationship with India they probably don’t support Pakistan. 

TheBlueSully

Take it outside the conflict zone. How does Albania feel about the implications of inter-state relations of this conflict? Could a response or lack of response on the part of the UN affect Albania's sovereignty, international relations, security, etc...

Ok_Conclusion_317

Albania is not related to the conflict directly, but they are a NATO country with a very high support on US on polls, and often help US in whatever surrounding conflicts US gets involved in. For example, Albanian shelters Iran’s pro-democracy opposition. They are also an EU candidate. In terms of which country is most likely to join EU now, it’s Montenegro, and after Montenegro, Albania.

Their biggest obstacle to them in EU is that their claim is tied to North Macedonia, so they literally cannot join unless North Macedonia resolves their issues with Bulgaria and Greece. No EU country has individual issues with Albania in particular. 

Even UK (not in EU now so they can’t veto), which has an issue with the high per capita criminal population mostly uses it as a political talking point but doesn’t do much against Albanians in particular because Albanians have very high recidivism rates and over time they integrate fine. Their issues are not cultural, they are poverty related. That’s much more different than other populations in UK that are disproportionally in prisons; the problems are both cultural and poverty related. 

Now, why did I mention this? Just a little background on the country to show that the people tend to align with EU and US on these matters. If EU needs a country to act as a middle-man, they can use Albania for this. It borders EU through Greece (and likely soon through Montenegro), but is not in EU, so it is in a gray zone where EU can do things that would be illegal in a EU country, but not in an EU candidate country. 

However, this always comes with negotiations for the betterment of the country, it’s not free.

Yelesa

Afghan vet here, idk if it’ll help much but Albania was a part of ISAF back in the day. So at one point they did have a vested interest in building up the Afghan army. A huge part of that was building up the Afghan border police because the Durand Line isn’t viewed as a real border by most people that live near it. Therefore, weapons, people and drugs were moved easily. 

The Taliban banned the production of opium because they have a drug addiction issue in the country but I wouldn’t be surprised if farmers still grow/export it. Problem for you is, I believe most of the drugs are moved north for smuggling into Europe. Perhaps you could discuss how crime syndicates in Afghanistan/Pakistan and Albania exploit the fragile border to smuggle illicit material into Europe? Because I’m sure Albania is an entry country to move things further in and around Europe. 

Additionally, the fragile state of the Durand Line allows for people (migrant) smuggling from Pakistan into places like Albania, which is used as a gateway to get into places like Germany, France, Italy. 

Also, the Islamic State. While their presence in Pakistan isn’t as big as their presence in Afghanistan, they could use the porous border to infiltrate Europe via Albania. Albania in the past has had several IS fighters caught inside of the country, but I believe they were fighters from Syria [https://www.counterextremism.com/countries/albania-extremism-and-terrorism](https://www.counterextremism.com/countries/albania-extremism-and-terrorism)

I’m shooting at the hip but best of luck to you.

The key thing to understand is that Pakistan's institutions are not unified in intent. In particular the government and ISI are often in direct if somewhat covert conflict.

throwdemawaaay

&gt;What exactly does Pakistan want?

The [Durand Line](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durand_Line) cuts through Pakistan and Afghanistan, dividing ethnic Pashtuns, who live on both sides of the border. Pakistan wants Afghanistan to accept the Durand Line as the legitimate border between the two countries. However, successive Afghan governments have refused to accept it.

Afghan governments have almost always been of the opinion that Pashtun areas should be returned to Afghanistan but Pakistan refuse to budge. Periodic skirmishes and tensions between Pakistani and Afghan security personnel is common. Violent clashes near the Chaman border post in early May 2017 left at least 13 people dead, and more than 80 wounded.

Pakistan is therefore trying its best to ensure that there is no change in the current status quo on the border.  It's relationship with the U.S notwithstanding.  Pakistan's strategy includes keeping Afghanistan in a constant state of unrest thereby ensuring that the Afghan government is not able to exercise meaningful diplomatic or military pressure on Pakistan. This, therefore, is Pakistan's end game in Afghanistan.

D_Sarkar

It's commonly stated that Pakistan supports Taliban and have been helping them covertly, throughout.

  


This is only partially true, but no one wants to go any further and ask why?

I mean why would Pakistan want such a entity on its borders? I see no debate asking why Pakistan is doing this. All I see is blaming Pakistan without any understanding or nuance on their rationale.

To understand Pakistan's stance you have to understand their geo political view of the region. Pakistan is locked in a geo polical conflict with India over Kashmir. They don't want to see any Indian influence in Afghanistan, because they fear a two front threat axis. The Taliban have no sympathies for Indian support, so they suit Pakistans purposes. That is it in a nutshell.

Other countries are allowed to have geo polical objectives that are self serving, so does Pakistan.

If the West spent time to find a solution to Kashmir issue, Taliban would never have existed, there would have been no need for them for the Pakistani's.

fighting14

Pakistan supports the Afghan taliban because they don’t want a united, stable Afghanistan. A competent Afghanistan would challenge its border with Pakistan.

The northern alliance/Afghanistan government were nationalists that what support a united Afghanistan. Pakistan does not want that so they supported the other side, the Afghan taliban to make sure Afghanistan remains fragmented and unstable. The Afghan taliban are not nationalists and will not challenge the border likely as long as Pashtun are allowed to move across.

harvardsyndicate

Probably go to r/Pashtun. They seem to know quite a lot over there and doesn’t look to good for Pakistan in the near future.

Magaman_1992

The Pakistan government largely wants nothing to do with the Taliban since 9/11. Hence, they let US drones bomb the country. However, some lower and middle level intelligence officers have reported provided support to the Taliban, probably a result of the time from when they did fund them.

The modern ISI is mainly a results of the effort to fund the taliban, paid for by the US. The ISI was a much smaller force in the Pakistani government prior to the infusion of Western funds, so it's no wonder that parts of it may still be sympathetic(youll note we didn't warn them about the bin laden raid).

It's almost like how you can have law enforcement and military officers in the US sympathetic to white supremacy, even while the president is a black man. In any country, the police, military and intelligence service tend to be more conservative than the mainstream.

NigroqueSimillima

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I've come across many friendly afghans but one thing I'll say is that, most of them don't consider us brothers the way we do.

dil_da_ni_maara

I dont know man… many afghanis think balochistan and kpk should be theirs and the rest to india… so to that i say nope.

Some pathans are under the impression that life would be better that way for them, but in reality it would not be. Control has been lost to the Taliban twice…. I dont think the whole dynamics or quality of life would be uplifted with such a state.

It’s hard to improve relationships with a people who keep suppressing their own people entirely. It’s not like a small group of Taliban folk are doing so well that it justifies it.

PakistaniJanissary

I don't like the Pakistan army, but what tf do the taliban expect after sheltering terrorist organisations that attack Pakistan?

AzamTheKing

Not sure why everything has to be about brotherhood and friendship. Weve declared china, saudia, turkey all our brothers and they treat us on a need basis. Also we make every effort to appease the Indians too yet they spit on all these efforts and are happy to not establish any relations with Pakistan.

So instead of being a asskisser and pleaser if Pakistan adopts a neutral and strategic support and relation amongst its neighbours we would be in a better position.

Harris-2k2k

Its the Pakistani military and the ruling form 47 Junta that is deliberately creating this mayhem to divert attention from domestic issues. forget Afghans this or that Pakistan as a whole is in the grip of criminals who have decided to dismember the federation of Pakistan and create greater Punjab Pashtoons are being targeted all over Panjab and there are reports from Kashmir as well its 1970 once again only a miracle can prevent it from becoming 1971.

desikachra

if you want peace, prepare for war

si vis pacem, para bellum

17016onliacco

Yes and India also convinced us to bomb Afghanistan and allegedly kill 46 people including 27 women and children

Acceptable-Fly-4644

The border is a huge source of tension in KP. There's been protests numbering tens of thousands in Chaman because of visa-restrictions for nearly 18 months. The Durrand Line cuts through tribal lands, individual villages, and (most importantly) lucrative trade routes. The Pakistani state has tried, only in terms of cutting off other markets, to reroute KP's economy to be centered and primarily focused on trade with Punjab. It's been very harsh on KP's economy. There's still a lot of blackmarket trade, primarily of cars and certain manufactured goods (gold, silver jewelry). In places like Swat and FATA, smuggled cars make up 9/10 you see on the road. Of the 1/10 legal cars, 5/10 of those are fake legals with a lifted serial number.

openandaware

I am from southern pashtonkhoa formerly known as Kakaristan region, (which is separate from KP, and part of Baluchistan). People in cities recognize it while in rural areas no one gives a damn to being either one.

KhanJahan23

Watanpal, there are too many Pakis and Indians on our subreddit lol, and the Pakis are too many bots just spamming so called Pakistani nationalism. I don’t agree with Taliban rule, but remember it’s Pakistanis and Arab degenerate supremacy that created them. So called “ummah” to rid of our identity. 

I presume pakis and Arabs are just gonna downvote this truth lol

Life_Physics3999

I recognise it as an international border. The Taliban are terrorists. TTP are terrorists. 

Our govts have been involved with them for decades, but that shit doesn’t make me want to merge with Afghanistan.

moeez023

Pashtons in Urban areas are supporting pakistani perspective on Durrand line because they are educated for generations and they have jobs in Pakistani government however people of ( FATA ) supporting Afghanistan's position. Pakistan government constantly trying to distance Pashtons in Pakistan from their history and teaching them fake things. They are exposing every other day. Things won't last long.

No-Mix-7633

The majority of us recognize it as an international border.

LifeCutStop

Yeah I'd like kpk to be aligned more with Afghanistan and the Durand line is a joke. It pretty much split up pashtuns so pakiland can steal resources. 

Ideally taliban takes it over, and it becomes part of Afghanistan. But pakis are brainwashed though thinking Pakistan helps them somehow

gsxrpushtun

I’m a Pashtun from Afghanistan, whether or not some gul khans accept it, we will never accept it, and that means we will always have intentions for it

Watanpal

Where are the real Pashtuns of KPK, I’m only seeing gul khan speak on your behalf

Honestly this is the wrong sub to ask that question  never gona get an objective answer this is a nationalist sub not saying anything wrong with having this sub btw. 
Imo you would be surprised  on how many people do actually recognise it as an international border now you can call them gul khans or whatever doesn’t change the fact they are inhabitants of KP

EarAdministrative688

Military tensions have increased between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with heavy artillery exchanges along the border. This has led to civilian fears and raised international concerns.

Pakistan-Afghanistan Border Tensions

Why This Matters

Public Sentiment Summary

Highlighted Comments

Parties Involved

What the people want