The Durand Line Agreement was signed between British India and Afghanistan in 1893 KABUL: Kabul on Thursday rejected reports that it has secretly recognized the disputed Durand Line as the official border with Pakistan to persuade Islamabad to bring the Afghan Taliban to the negotiating table. The reports, citing Afghan analysts, emerged amid a series of visits by Pakistani and Afghan authorities aimed at restoring bilateral ties, and the killing of Pakistani Taliban leader Mullah Fazalullah in a US drone strike in Afghanistan. The reports coincided with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s announcement of a truce over the Eid period with the Afghan Taliban, which declared a three-day cease-fire but has resumed its attacks since Sunday night, killing dozens of troops. An Afghan government delegation led by National Security Advisor Hanif Atmar visited Pakistan on Wednesday to discuss what Afghan officials said was implementation of security and peace plans reached months ago between the two countries. The visit led to reports that Atmar had struck a deal with Pakistan to abandon Afghanistan’s historical claim over the Durand Line in return for Islamabad’s help in persuading the Taliban to begin talks with Kabul, and a vow to not derail parliamentary elections slated for October and the presidential vote next year. “Baseless reports about the supposed Durand Line are changing hands on social media,” Atmar wrote, adding that no such discussions have taken place with any Pakistani official. The Durand Line is an issue that belongs to all Afghans, and no government “has the right” to talk about it, he said. The Durand Line Agreement was signed between British India and Afghanistan in 1893. Since its creation in 1947, Pakistan has maintained that the treaty is binding and forms the border between it and Afghanistan. But no Afghan government has recognized the line as the official border, and the issue has been a historical source of dispute between the two countries.