An Analysis on the History and Prospect of the Pashtunistan Issue

The issue of Pashtunistan has long plagued the relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Pashtun issue originated from the delineation of the Durand Line between Afghanistan and British India. As a result, for a long time there was no clear border demarcation between Afghanistan and British India. The Pashtun inhabited areas include the western part of Pakistan today and parts of southern and eastern Afghanistan, just scattered on the east and west sides of the original Durand Line. The two countries’ cognition of the Durand Line and the identification of the Pashtun ethnic group across the border have laid a hidden danger for the formation, development and realities of the Pashtun issue in the future. Since 1980s, the controversy has been fading. In 2020, with the complete withdrawal of the US armed forces from Afghanistan and the end of the 19-year war in Afghanistan, will the issue of Pashtunistan between Pakistan and Afghanistan resurface? In the post-Afghanistan war era, the trend, prospect and risks of this topic deserve further discussion and study.