An old video of Abdul Hamid Khorasani, a former Tajik and Panjshiri Taliban commander, has once again gained widespread attention on social media. In the video, which was recorded around four years ago (late 2021 or early 2022), Khorasani describes the Durand Line as a “legitimate international border” between Afghanistan and Pakistan and calls it Pakistan’s legitimate right.
In the interview, Khorasani also claimed that opposition to the Durand Line and support for the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) are funded by Indian intelligence agencies.
The remarks were made when Khorasani was at the height of his influence as one of the Taliban commanders in Panjshir. Reports indicate that after the remarks were made public, he faced the anger of the Taliban leadership, was imprisoned and beaten, and most of the forces under his command were disarmed.
The video has recently been reposted by various accounts on X, sparking renewed debate among Afghan and Pakistani users. Some view it as evidence of a position contrary to the Taliban’s official policy, which describes the Durand Line as an imaginary and colonial boundary and has never recognized it as an international border.
The well-known interview between Homayoun Afghan and Hamid Khorasani in November 2021 also took place during this period, although it is unclear whether the section concerning the Durand Line was actually part of that interview.
It is worth noting that in recent years, Abdul Hamid Khorasani has repeatedly faced restrictions and temporary detention over controversial statements and criticism of ethnic discrimination within the Taliban’s ranks.
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