KABUL - Kabul on Monday took strong exception to US Special Envoy Marc Grossman's remarks that the Durand Line is an internationally recognized border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

On his arrival in Kabul from Islamabad, where he held talks with Pakistani officials, the diplomat told Channel One that the United States considered the Durand Line an international border.

Soon after his remarks were aired, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the status of the Durand Line was a matter of historic importance for the Afghan people.

"The Afghan government, therefore, rejects and considers irrelevant any statement by anyone about the legal status of this line," the ministry spokesman, Janan Musazai, said in a statement.

The 1,500-mile border was agreed in a treaty signed on November 12, 1893, in Kabul by Sir Mortimer Durand, representing British India, and Amir Abdur Rahman, the ex-Afghan king.

But Afghanistan has never accepted the legitimacy of this border, arguing that it was intended to demarcate spheres of influence rather than international frontiers.

During his two-day trip to Islamabad, Pakistan and the US agreed to form a new bilateral commission to woo the Afghan Taliban to the negotiating table.

A Pakistani newspaper, the Express Tribune, reported the two countries would identify groups for reconciliation and facilitate smooth transition of power after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. (Pajhwok)