Brushing aside Afghan criticism of US Special envoy Marc Grossman’s statement reaffirming internationally recognized status of Durand Line as the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the State Department Tuesday said its policy on the issue remains unchanged. The State Department firmly stood by Ambassador Grossman’s articulation of US position on Durand Line. “Our policy on this has not changed. It was correctly stated by Ambassador Grossman that we see this as the internationally recognized boundary,” State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said. She was asked to comment on Kabul’s reported rejection of a statement made by US Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Ambassador Grossman during his visit to Kabul, where he said Washington believes 2640 km long Durand Line is the internationally recognized boundary. The spokesperson said she was not aware of Afghanistan registering any protest with the US on the issue.
