Exploring Afghanistan's Neighborhood: Unveiling The Three Bordering Countries

Afghanistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia, bordered by six countries and one disputed territory. To the north, it shares borders with Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan. To the west lies Iran, and to the east and south is Pakistan. Afghanistan also has a short border with China in the northeast. The country's landscape is predominantly mountainous, with plains in the north and southwest, separated by the Hindu Kush mountain range.

The Afghanistan-Pakistan border is 2,670 km long and is often recognised as one of the world's most dangerous borders

The Afghanistan-Pakistan border, also known as the Durand Line, is a highly contested border that has been recognised as one of the world's most dangerous borders. The Durand Line was established in 1893 as the international border between the Emirate of Afghanistan and the Indian Empire. The border is 2,670 km long and runs through mountainous terrain, with twelve Afghan provinces and three Pakistani provinces located along it.

The Durand Line was established by Mortimer Durand, a British diplomat of the Indian Civil Service, and Abdur Rahman Khan, the Emir of Afghanistan. The Durand Line was created to fix the limit of their respective spheres of influence and improve diplomatic relations and trade. The Durand Line divided the Pashtun areas in two, setting the region up for future tensions due to tribal allegiances spanning both sides of the border. The Durand Line also gave Balochistan to British India and defined the Wakhan Corridor, a thin strip of land running to the Chinese border, as a buffer zone between the Russian and British empires.

The Durand Line has been a source of tension between Afghanistan and Pakistan, with Afghanistan refusing to recognise the Durand Line as the official border between the two countries. Afghanistan continues to seek the return of Pashtun territories, as well as Balochistan, which would provide it with access to the Arabian Sea. The Durand Line has also been a site of frequent conflict, with the Pakistani army, made up mostly of Punjabis, and the Taliban, made up mostly of Pashtuns, engaging in violent conflict along the border. The Durand Line has also been used by the Pakistani Taliban to carry out attacks in Pakistan, with the Pakistani government responding with retaliatory strikes in Afghanistan.

The border between Afghanistan and Iran is characterised by desert and plateau environments

The border begins at the tripoint with Turkmenistan in the Harirud River before proceeding overland just to the east of the Iranian town of Taybad. The border then follows a series of short straight lines, passing through the Daryache-ye Namakzar and the Daqq-e Patergan salt lakes. The middle 'Turkish section' consists of a series of straight lines through a plain, with some mountains to the south, ending at Kuh Siah mountain, where the border veers sharply to the east. It cuts through Hamun Lake before turning south, where it follows the Juy-e Siksar River down to the confluence with the Helmand River. The border is then formed of a long straight line segment going southwest to the tripoint with Pakistan at the Kuh-i-Malik Salih mountain.

The Helmand River is Afghanistan's longest river and is important to the country, as it is used for irrigation. The Helmand and its major tributary, the Arghandab River, have several hydroelectric dams creating artificial reservoirs. The Helmand flows generally southwest from the Hindu Kush to the Iranian border.

The northern section of the border is marked by the Heray River, also known as the Hari River. The region experiences an arid climate, and the river often has varying levels of water. The southern section of the border, near the city of Zabol in Iran, is marked by the Helmand River.

The border between Afghanistan and Iran is located in the western and southwestern regions of Afghanistan. The border traverses a generally arid, inhospitable region with few inhabitants, except in the Zabol-Zaranj area where the main border crossing is located. The border between the two countries was formalised in the period 1872-1935 by a series of third-party arbitrations, stemming from the Treaty of Paris (1857) in which Persia and Afghanistan agreed to refer any dispute between them to Britain for arbitration.

The Tajikistan-Afghanistan border is approximately 810 miles long and is made up of difficult and dangerous terrain

The border crossing is extremely volatile due to the Tajikistani Civil War and the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan. The long, porous frontier remains poorly policed and is a major drug smuggling route. The border is also prone to periodic closures, usually during disease outbreaks and when the Taliban pushes into the Badakhshan Province.

The Tajikistan-Afghanistan border is divided into several border crossings. The Ishkashim Border Crossing is the only feasibly safe way to access the narrow Wakhan Corridor. The border does close periodically, usually during disease outbreaks and when the Taliban pushes into the Badakhshan Province. The border crossing has a Tajik side and an Afghan side, with different opening times. The Tajik border opens from 8 am to 12 pm and then reopens from 2 pm to 4 pm. The Afghan border is closed on Sundays and is open from 9 am to 11:30 am and 2 pm to 4 pm.

The border area is challenging to traverse due to its difficult and dangerous terrain. The area is characterised by mountainous landscapes and river systems. The Amu Darya, Pyanj, and Pamir Rivers run through the border region, and the Wakhan Corridor, a narrow panhandle of mountainous territory, extends to the Chinese autonomous region of Xinjiang. The terrain is so challenging that a border market was historically held on an island in the middle of the Pyanj River, where merchants from Tajikistan and Afghanistan could trade goods without technically entering Afghanistan.

The Tajikistan-Afghanistan border is a critical component of the international community's engagement with Afghanistan. The border's proximity to Afghanistan makes Tajikistan a vital actor in the ongoing efforts to stabilise the country. The border is also a significant route for drug trafficking, with both countries expressing concern about the issue.

The Uzbekistan-Afghanistan border is relatively short at 89 miles long and is the second most heavily guarded border in the world

The Uzbekistan-Afghanistan border is 89 miles long, making it the shortest of Uzbekistan's external borders. The border runs from the tripoint with Turkmenistan to the tripoint with Tajikistan along the Amu River. The city of Termez in Uzbekistan and the town of Hairatan in Afghanistan are the closest major populated centres to the border.

The border is the second most heavily guarded in the world, primarily watched over by guards and soldiers from Uzbekistan. In 2001, Uzbekistan built a barrier along the border consisting of a barbed wire fence, a second, taller, 380-volt electrified barbed-wire fence, land mines, and a patrol of heavily armed Uzbek soldiers. The border is crossed by the Afghanistan-Uzbekistan Friendship Bridge, which was completed in 1982 and consists of a roadway and a railroad.

The entire border follows the thalweg of the Amu River, from the Turkmen tripoint in the west to the Tajik tripoint in the east. The border was inherited from the old Soviet Union-Afghan border, which largely took its current shape during the 19th-century Anglo-Russian rivalry in Central Asia known as the Great Game.

The Uzbekistan-Afghanistan border is crossed daily by large volumes of trade between the two countries. Citizens of Afghanistan can stay in Termez for up to 10 days without a travel visa.

The Afghanistan-Turkmenistan border is marked by the Amu Darya River and is considered dangerous due to heavy drug smuggling activity

The Afghanistan-Turkmenistan border is approximately 804km (500 miles) long and runs from the tripoint with Iran to the tripoint with Uzbekistan. The border traverses a thinly populated area consisting mostly of desert and some hills, except for the easternmost section where the Amu Darya is paralleled by a road and railway on the Turkmen side.

The Amu Darya River, one of the longest rivers in Central Asia, forms portions of Afghanistan's northern boundary with three countries: Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The river then flows across a desert in eastern Turkmenistan and, in its lower course, forms portions of the border between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The Afghanistan-Turkmenistan border is considered dangerous due to heavy drug smuggling activity. Afghanistan is responsible for more than 90% of the world's illicit opium production, and 15% of the opiates produced in Afghanistan are smuggled through Central Asia on their way to Russia, Eastern Europe, and China. It is believed that the regime of Saparmurat Niyazov, the eccentric communist dictator of Turkmenistan from 1985 until his death in 2006, facilitated drug trafficking from Afghanistan. There is evidence to suggest that heroin abuse in Turkmenistan is rapidly rising.

The porous border and the rise of Herat as a major narco-trafficking hub have complicated Turkmenistan's efforts to interdict drug shipments from Afghanistan. In recent years, there have been several violent incidents along the border connected to the ongoing conflict and instability in Afghanistan, prompting Turkmenistan to increase its military presence in the region.

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