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Dawn.com
WASHINGTON
The Uni-ted States needs to condition its aid to Afghanistan on the recognition of the Durand Line as Kabul's refusal to recognise it unsettles Pakis-tan, a US lawmaker told a House Subcommittee on Foreign Affairs.
This apparently is the first time a lawmaker, California Democrat Brad Sherman, has suggested conditioning US aid to Afghanistan to the recognition of Durand Line. Mr Sherman, who usually is harsh on Pakistan, put forth this suggestion at a House subcommittee hearing on"Maintaining US influence in South Asia," on Thursday.
At the same hearing, a senior US official Assis-tant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells remin-ded Pakistan that India's interests in Afghanistan were as"real and legitimate as Pakistan's".
Mr Sherman proposed conditioning US aid to Kabul while outlining his views on Pakistan's interests in Afghanistan and its fears of a growing Indian influence in that country.
"The Durand line the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan has not been recognised by the Afghan government," he said.
"I realise that's tough. They'll say, oh, don't but the fact is, as long as Afghanistan leaves open the idea that they're claiming Pakistani territory, it's going to be very hard to get the Pakistanis involved, as we need them involved, in controlling the Afghan Taliban," he explained.
The 2,430km Durand Line is the internationally recognised border between Pakis-tan and Afghanistan, established in 1896. But it remains largely unrecognised in Afghanistan. India often supports the Afghan claim.
Congressman Sherman explained how Kabul's refu-sal to recognise Durand Line, and India's ambiguous stance on this issue, continues to stir Pakistan's worst fears.
