When Afghans Look to Border With Pakistan, They Don't See a Fixed Line
--
"The status of the Durand Line is a matter of historic importance for the Afghan people," it said in a statement.
President Hamid Karzai's spokesman, Aimal Faizi, also expressed pique in a message marking Id al-Adha, the Islamic holiday that began Friday. "May almighty God bring peace, security and unity to Afghanistan, particularly to both sides of the Durand Line," the spokesman's office said in a statement.
Mr. Grossman's comments, delivered at a time when Afghans are particularly apprehensive about their country's future, hit a tender nerve. Increasingly, and openly, Afghans have been debating the limits of what they can expect from the United States, an ally that is often both reviled here and seen as a needed benefactor and protector.
Compounding the insult, in the Afghan view, is that the United States is taking the side of Pakistan, whose government is seen as harboring or even aiding Taliban and Haqqani militants waging the insurgency in Afghanistan who are sheltered in the territories cut off by the Durand Line.
"For the Afghan side, there was always this expectation that if we involved the U.S. deeper into Afghanistan's issues, it was going to lead to a solution of the problem with militant extremism from Pakistan," said Haseeb Humayoon of QARA Consulting, a policy advisory firm in Kabul.
But now, he added, the United States is pulling back, and "the problem remains."
The sense of dashed expectations is palpable, and hopes are increasingly being replaced with conspiracy theories. Though such theories — mirroring those often heard about the United States on the Pakistani side of the border, if slightly less energetic — have always been whispered here, they are picking up volume as the American withdrawal nears.
In Afghanistan, Comment on Border Brings Tension - NYTimes.com