A history lesson is in order on Sarah Sands comment piece of the 24th of Feb ( Will Afghanistan ever escape being a pawn in the Great Game ) as it conveniently does not mention the impact of British imperialism on the country and its legacy till this day.

We had three conflicts ( 1839-42; 1878-80; 1919 ) referred to as the Afghan wars or sometimes the Anglo-Afghan Wars in which Great Britain, from its base in India, sought to extend its control over neighbouring Afghanistan to oppose Russian influence there.

One of its legacies is the border disputes around the Durand line, the 2,430 km international border between Pakistan and Afghanistan established in 1896. It is still disputed by the two countries even after their independence and the source of much of the tension between the two countries, as it simply doesn’t have much legitimacy for those living along the border let alone those in their capitals. As a result it makes for both countries being very suspicion of any movements of peoples over the Durand line like the refugees that Pakistan has just expelled from their country.

So we have to at least take some responsibility for the imperial lines we have drawn across those parts of the world and their contribution to continuing the Great Game.