The Durand Line and Its Legacies
Notes de l’épisode
The Pakistan–Afghanistan border clashes in October 2025 were the latest eruption of a deeper historical fault line at the Durand Line. The roots trace to decades of mistrust, migration, and geopolitics. This episode hopes to explore how the Durand line continues to fuel tensions and how ordinary people (especially near the border) bear the brunt of the security crackdowns and deportations, and how external involvement, both past and present, has shaped the relationship of the two neighbors and reshaped broader geopolitics in South Asia. To help us understand the legacy of this border is Zahid Hussain.
Zahid Hussain is an award-winning journalist and author known for his extensive reporting on Pakistan and Afghanistan. He has served as a correspondent for The Times of London and The Wall Street Journal, and has written for Newsweek, the Associated Press, and The Economist. A former senior editor at Newsline, he is now a regular columnist for Dawn, Pakistan’s largest english newspaper
He has been the Pakistan Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., and a visiting fellow at both Wolfson College, Cambridge, and the Stimson Center.
He is the author of three books, including Frontline Pakistan, named The Wall Street Journal’s Book of the Year, and his latest, No Win War.
Hosts: Ayesha Jilani and Jiwon Lim
Produced by Ayesha Jilani
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