The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs has removed the word “border” from an official statement on its website regarding the recent ceasefire agreement between the Taliban and Pakistan, AnsarPress reported.
In the original version of the statement, the Qatari Foreign Ministry had expressed hope that:
“This important step will help end tensions along the border between the two brotherly countries and lay a solid foundation for lasting peace in the region.”
However, in the revised version, the phrase was changed to:
“This important step will help end tensions between the two brotherly countries and lay a firm foundation for lasting peace in the region.”
The use of the word “border” in the original text sparked strong reactions in Afghanistan, where many observers interpreted it as an implicit recognition by the Taliban of the Durand Line as the official border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In response to the backlash, Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, the Taliban’s Minister of Defense, clarified in an online meeting that the term “border” was never used in the group’s agreement with Pakistan.
He stated:
“The Durand Line has a clear position among Afghans — it is never referred to as a border, and we have not made any such agreement. This matter is not within the authority of the current government.”
Yaqoob further added:
“It was Qatar that used the word ‘border’ in its statement — it does not appear in our agreement, nor is there anything similar mentioned in the text.”
The Taliban government, like previous Afghan administrations, refers to the Durand Line as a ‘fictional line’, while Pakistan and most of the international community recognize it as the official and internationally accepted border between the two countries.
Qatar’s quiet revision of the statement underscores the sensitivity of the Durand Line issue, which has long been a political and emotional flashpoint in Afghanistan–Pakistan relations and a potential obstacle to any lasting peace framework between the two sides.
