Pakistani opposition leader says Pashtuns should obtain Afghan IDs
Mahmood Khan Achakzai, a prominent Pakistani opposition leader, has called on Pashtuns in Pakistan to obtain Afghan identity cards, a proposal that has drawn criticism from Afghan politicians and former officials.
Achakzai, leader of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party and a senior opposition figure in Pakistan, argued that because millions of Pakistanis hold dual citizenship with countries such as Canada and Italy, Pashtuns should also be able to obtain Afghan identification documents.
“Every Pashtun should obtain an Afghan identity card and openly show people that he has one,” Achakzai said in remarks shared on social media.
He also claimed that the fencing along the Durand Line had been installed at the direction of the United States.
The comments quickly prompted responses from political figures, many of whom rejected the idea that Afghan citizenship or identity documents should be linked to ethnicity.
Naseer Ahmad Andisha, Afghanistan’s ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva, said Afghan citizenship is defined by the country’s laws and legal framework, not by ethnic affiliations that extend across national borders.
“It is time for Pashtun political actors in Pakistan to stop using Afghanistan for their domestic political objectives and focus on the political and constitutional challenges of their own country,” Andisha wrote on social media.
Former lawmaker Fawzia Koofi similarly rejected the notion that citizenship could be granted through political declarations.
“In other countries, citizenship, dual nationality and national identity documents are governed by legal procedures,” she wrote. “These are not matters that can be granted through a political statement.”
The debate also drew commentary from Afghan academics and political observers, who described it as part of a broader discussion about identity, nationality and the relationship between ethnic communities divided by modern state borders.
The issue remains particularly sensitive because millions of Pashtuns live on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The Durand Line, established in 1893 during British colonial rule, has long been disputed by successive Afghan governments, while Pakistan considers it the country’s internationally recognized border.
Achakzai’s remarks come amid continuing tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban over security, border management and the presence of militant groups.
Questions of ethnic identity and cross-border ties have frequently surfaced in political debates in both countries.
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar recently argued that the largest concentration of Pashtuns now lives not in Afghanistan but in Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi. He also described the Durand Line as the official border between the two countries.
Similarly, Asif Durrani, Pakistan’s former special representative for Afghanistan, has said that the overwhelming majority of Pakistan’s Pashtuns are loyal Pakistani citizens and have made significant sacrifices for the country’s security and stability.