Pakistan begins fencing border with Afghanistan

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan

Pakistani army on Tuesday announced the military had begun fencing the Pakistan-Afghanistan border starting with three tribal agencies on its side as tensions between the two neighboring countries escalate following a spate of terror attacks.

In a statement, Pakistani army’s military wing said the fencing was being carried out in two phases.

In the first phase, the plan is to seal off “high-infiltration prone” border areas along Pakistan’s Bajaur, Mohmand and Khyber tribal agencies while in the second phase, the fencing of the remaining border areas along southwestern Balochistan province would begin, the Inter-Services Public Relations said in the statement.

Pakistani army and Frontier Corps units will also construct new forts and border posts along the border to thwart alleged infiltration of terrorists from Afghanistan, the statement added.

"A secure Pak-Afghan border is interest of both countries and a well-coordinated border security mechanism is essential for enduring peace and stability in the region," the military spokesman said.

Last February, Pakistan unilaterally closed its border with Afghanistan, commonly known as the Durand Line, for over a month following a spate of terror attacks, including a suicide bombing at a Sufi shrine in southern Sehwan that left 90 people dead.

Pakistan blames “Afghanistan-based terrorists” for recent flare-up of violence on its soil, whereas Kabul, denies the charge and itself accuses Islamabad of patronizing the Afghan Taliban, particularly powerful Haqqani network, a group blamed for numerous militant attacks in Afghanistan in recent years.

Pakistan and Afghanistan share 18 crossing points -- the most commonly used ones are Torkham and Chaman.

Afghanistan does not recognize the Durand Line -- a 2,640-kilometer (1,640-mile) long border, which was established in 1893 in line with an agreement between India under British colonial rule, and Abdur Rahman Khan, the then ruler of Afghanistan.

Pakistani military alleges that since 2014 fighters of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and affiliated groups fled to Afghanistan following a military operation against them in Waziristan agency.

"There is no other way except to fence the border and stop terrorists from Afghanistan," Analyst Brig. Retd. Mehmood Shah told Anadolu Agency over the phone.