The Durand Line (Pashto: د ډیورنډ کرښه) refers to the porous international border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. This poorly marked line is approximately 2,640 kilometers (1,640 mi) long. It was established after the 1893 Durand Line Agreement between a representative of colonial British India and Afghan Amir Abdur Rahman Khan for fixing the limit of their respective spheres of influence. It is named after Henry Mortimer Durand, the Foreign Secretary of British India at the time. The single-page agreement which contains seven short articles was signed by H. M. Durand and Amir Abdur Rahman Khan, agreeing not to exercise interference beyond the frontier line between Afghanistan and what was then colonial British India (now Pakistan).

A joint British-Afghan demarcation survey took place starting from 1894, covering some 800 miles of the border. The resulting Durand Line established the "Great Game" buffer zone between British and Russian interests in the region. This poorly marked border cuts through the Pashtun tribal areas, dividing ethnic Pashtuns (Afghans) on both sides of the border and lies in what has been described as one of the most dangerous places in the world. Although shown on most maps as the western international border of Pakistan, it is unrecognized by Afghanistan. Rival maps also are said to display discrepancies of as much as five kilometers.

General Ehsan ul Haq (born September 22, 1949 in Mardan), is a retired four-star general in the Pakistan Army who served as the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee of the Pakistan Military until October 8, 2007. After the military coup of 1999 in which General Pervez Musharraf came to power, General Ehsan was given some of the most important posts in the Pakistan Army which included commanding the Army corps in the restive tribal region and Khyber Pakhtoon Kwah Province; directing the ISI, the principal intelligence body; and chairmaning Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, the Commander-in-chief of Pakistan Armed Forces.

Ehsan ul-Haq graduated from PAF College,Sargodha in 1967, and was commissioned in Army Air Defense in October 1969 in the 41st PMA Long Course.While serving in the Army,General Ehsan commanded various Infantry and Air Defense divisions.Some of Ehsan's achievements consist of graduating from Command and Staff College, Quetta, and National Defense University, Islamabad. He was promoted Brigadier in June 1992 and Major General in June 1996. After promotion to Major General,Ehsan served as the GOC of 16th Infantry Division (Pano Aqil) near Sukkur, Sindh. He was decorated with Hilal-e-Imtiaz for his meritorious military services. During the army takeover in 1999,Maj Gen Ehsan was Director General of Military Intelligence (DGMI), a post he continued till April 2001,when he was replaced by Major General Tariq Majid.He was then promoted as Lieutenant General and posted as the corps commander of the Peshawar Corps, a post he continued for few months till October 2001.