1. The Afghanistan–Iran Border

The Afghanistan–Iran border is 921 km (572 mi) in length. It runs from the tripoint with Turkmenistan  in the Harirud river to the tripoint with Pakistan in the south. The formalization of this border between Qajar Iran and Afghanistan was a protracted process occurring between 1872 and 1935 by the British formalize.  

 

Crossings on the Afghanistan-Iran Border:

Dowqarun (Mashhad)-Islam Qala (Herat) Crossing: This is recommended. There is a 6-hour drive from Mashhad to the border and border crossing takes around 2 hours. After crossing the border you will have another 3 hours drive to Herat. Shared taxis are available between Mashhad and Herat. 

 

 

  1. The Afghanistan–Pakistan Border (The Durand Line)

The Afghanistan–Pakistan border, known as the Durand Line, is Afghanistan’s longest and most politically charged frontier. It is a 2,640-kilometre (1,640 mi) international border. India also claims a land border with Afghanistan on the eastern end of the Durand Line, between Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor and the Gilgit region, which is administered by Pakistan but claimed by India as part of the disputed Kashmir region. The western end of the Durand Line runs to the border with Iran, and the eastern end to the border with China. The Durand Line was established in 1893 as the international border between the Emirate of Afghanistan and the British Indian Empire. It was negotiated by Mortimer Durand, a British diplomat, and Abdur Rahman Khan, the Emir of Afghanistan.

Geopolitically, the Durand Line cuts through to demarcate Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and the contested region of Gilgit-Baltistan from the northeastern and southern provinces of Afghanistan. It has been described as one of the most dangerous borders in the world. The border is 2,611 km (1,622 mi) long. Twelve Afghan provinces are located along it: Nimroz, Helmand, Kandahar, Zabul, Paktika, Khost, Paktia, Logar, Nangarhar, Kunar, Nuristan, and Badakhshan. The terrain is extremely rugged, featuring high mountains. The highest peak, Noshaq, is located along the border between the two countries, while some of the world’s highest peaks, including K2, are a short distance to the east of the Line’s end on the Pakistani side. 

A critical and enduring issue is that although the Durand Line is internationally recognized as the western border of Pakistan, it remains politically unrecognized by successive Afghan governments. No Afghan government has recognized the Durand Line as its international border since 1947.  This border is one of the most complicated and skirmished frontiers of Afghanistan, with multiple armed incidents occurring between Afghan and Pakistani forces over the decades.

 

The Treaty of Gandamak

 Signed on 26 May 1879, it officially ended the first phase of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Afghan Emir Mohammad Yaqub Khan ceded control of Afghanistan’s foreign affairs to the British Raj and surrendered frontier areas. Specifically, jurisdiction over the Korram and Pishin valleys, the Sibi district, and the Khyber Pass were transferred to the British. The treaty established the ceded territories as part of British India.

 

Crossings on the Afghanistan-Pakistan Border:

Torkham Border Crossing

On the Afghan side, Highway 8 connects Torkham to Kabul through Jalalabad. On the Pakistani side, the crossing is at the end of the N-5 National Highway, which connects it to Peshawar via the Khyber Pass and further to Islamabad. Torkham is 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) west of the summit of the Khyber Pass.

 

 

  1. The Afghanistan–Turkmenistan Border

The Afghanistan–Turkmenistan border is 804 km (500 mi) in length. It runs from the tripoint with Iran in the west to the tripoint with Uzbekistan in the east. The border traverses a thinly populated area consisting mostly of desert and some hills.

This border, like others in the north, was shaped during the 19th-century Great Game. In 1873, Britain and Russia agreed on a rough formulation, with the Amu Darya declared as the border east of Khwaja Salar. The western section was to be determined later. Russian expansion into Turkmenistan in the early 1880s led to the Panjdeh Incident, a crisis over an area claimed by Afghanistan. A joint Anglo-Russian boundary commission then demarcated the boundary between 1885 and 1888. As the village of Khwaja Salar could no longer be identified, it was agreed the boundary should meet the Amu Darya near Khamiab, Afghanistan. This border was inherited by the Soviet Union and later by independent Turkmenistan. A 1921 Soviet-Afghan treaty proposed handing over frontier districts to Afghanistan, but this was never implemented and was explicitly annulled by the Frontier Agreement of 1946, which maintained the existing boundary.

 

Crossings on the Afghanistan-Turkmenistan Border:

  1. Aqina (Aqina Port)

Aqina, also known as Aqina Port, is a border checkpoint and crossing in northern Faryab Province. It has a train station by the same name, serving as the second rail service between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Aqina also has a small dry port with basic facilities and a heliport. 

  1. Torghundi

Torghundi is a border town in northern Herat Province. Its main feature is the custom house and border checkpoint, which officially connects Afghanistan by road with Turkmenistan. Torghundi is connected by both a regular road and a 1520 mm gauge railroad with Serhetabat in Turkmenistan.

 

 

  1. The Afghanistan–Uzbekistan Border

The Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border is 144 km (89 miles) long, making it the shortest external border of Uzbekistan. It stretches from the Turkmenistan tripoint in the west to the Tajikistan tripoint in the east. The entire border follows the thalweg of the Amu Darya (Oxus) River. The closest major population centers are Termez in Uzbekistan and Hairatan in Afghanistan, which form the most important contact point. 

Historically, its origins lie in the 19th-century Great Game agreements. The 1873 Anglo-Russian agreement established the Amu Darya as the boundary. Following the Panjdeh Incident, a joint commission finalized the border between 1885 and 1888. The eastern section was settled between 1893 and 1895, with Emir Abdur Rahman Khan relinquishing claims north of the river. 

 

Crossings on the Afghanistan-Uzbekistan Border:

  1. Hairatan-Termez Crossing

The most important and only fixed crossing on the Afghanistan-Uzbekistan border is the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan Friendship Bridge. This road–rail bridge connects Hairatan in Afghanistan’s Balkh Province with Termez in Uzbekistan. It lies about 75 km north of Mazar-i-Sharif.

The bridge was built by the Soviet Union and opened on 12 May 1982. It was originally a crucial military supply route during the Soviet-Afghan War and was the route for the final Soviet withdrawal on 15 February 1989. It has been repeatedly closed and reopened based on political and security conditions. Today, the bridge remains a vital, strategic link for trade and transport between Afghanistan and Central Asia.

 

 

  1. The Afghanistan–Tajikistan Border

The Afghanistan–Tajikistan border is 1,357 km (843 miles) long, extending from the Uzbekistan tripoint in the west to the China (Xinjiang) tripoint in the east. It is the longest of Afghanistan’s northern borders. Most of the border follows natural waterways: the Amu Darya, Pyanj, and Pamir Rivers. The eastern section crosses the mountainous Wakhan Corridor. This boundary also divides the ethnic Tajik population between the two states.

The border was shaped during the Great Game. The 1873 Anglo-Russian agreement designated the Amu Darya as the boundary. After the Panjdeh Incident, a joint commission finalized most of the border between 1884 and 1887. The eastern section in the Wakhan Corridor was defined between 1893 and 1895 to create a buffer between the British and Russian empires.

 

Crossings on the Afghanistan-Tajikistan Border:

  1. Sher Khan Bandar–Panji Poyon Crossing

Sher Khan Bandar, located in Kunduz Province, is the most important crossing point on the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border. Its significance grew dramatically after the opening of the Panji Poyon Bridge in 2007. This crossing can handle up to 400 trucks per day and is a cornerstone for trade between Afghanistan and Central Asia.

  1. Tajikistan–Afghanistan Friendship Bridge (at Qal’ai Khumb)

Another key link is the Tajikistan–Afghanistan Friendship Bridge at Qal’ai Khumb. This 135-meter suspension bridge was opened on 6 July 2004. It was built by the Aga Khan Development Network at a cost of USD 500,000. The bridge supports vehicles up to 25 metric tonnes and provides a permanent overland connection between the two countries.

  1. Other Crossings

Additional official crossings include Ishkashim–Ishkoshim and Shighnan–Khorugh, as well as various ferry routes across the Pyanj River.

 

 

  1. The Afghanistan–China Border

The Afghanistan–China border is a 92-kilometre-long (57 mi) boundary. It is located in the far northeast of Afghanistan, at the end of the long, narrow Wakhan Corridor. The border begins at the tripoint with Pakistan (Gilgit-Baltistan), follows the watershed along the Mustagh Range, and ends at the tripoint with Tajikistan. The Chinese side is in the Chalachigu Valley within the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County of Xinjiang. Both sides are protected areas: Wakhan National Park on the Afghan side and Taxkorgan Nature Reserve on the Chinese side. The border is marked by several high mountain passes, including Wakhjir Pass and Tegermansu Pass. This border also marks the greatest terrestrial time zone difference on Earth, with a 3.5-hour difference between Afghanistan’s UTC+04:30 and China’s UTC+08:00.

Historically, the area was a Silk Road thoroughfare. The border was established between the British and Russian empires in 1895 as part of the Great Game, but China and Afghanistan did not formally agree on it until 1963, when the Kingdom of Afghanistan and the People’s Republic of China demarcated their border. The border is remote and closed. In the 2000s, Afghanistan asked China on several occasions to open the border for economic reasons or as an alternative supply route, but China resisted, largely due to unrest in Xinjiang. By 2025, the Chinese military had set up a high green fence along the border and multiple large barracks.

 

Crossings on the Afghanistan-China Border

The Afghanistan-China border has no official, open border crossing points. The two historical mountain passes are closed and not navigable by standard vehicles. China maintains a closed border policy here.

 

 

 

 

Afghanistan’s borders are a complex tapestry woven from the threads of 19th-century imperial rivalry, 20th-century superpower conflict, and 21st-century geopolitical and security challenges. Each frontier—the contentious Durand Line with Pakistan, the economically vital borders with Iran and the Central Asian states, and the remote, closed border with China—carries its own distinct history, function, and set of problems. The crossing points, from the bustling truck stops of Islam Qala and Torkham to the strategic Friendship Bridges in the north and the remote, inhospitable passes of the Wakhan, are the practical nodes where policy, economy, and people meet.

 

 

References:

 

  1. Wikipedia contributors. Afghanistan’s borders, treaties, and border crossings. In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/

 

 

 

Let’s Go Afghanistan