Afghanistan opposes border fencing by Pakistan

By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan

Afghanistan on Tuesday warned Pakistan against fencing the disputed Durand Line -- a 2,640-kilometer (1,640-mile) long border between the two countries.

The Ministry of Border and Tribal Affairs (MoBTA) in Kabul has said that Afghanistan has not been consulted nor any agreement has been reached for the fencing.

Abdul Ghafoor, Minister for Border and Tribal Affairs told Anadolu Agency this move by Pakistan only aims to divide the tribes living on both sides of the Durand Line.

“The Afghan government strongly believes that fencing the disputed Durand Line does not help bring peace and security, but actually divides the tribes living since centuries on both sides of the border,” he said.

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, Pakistan 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.

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

Afghanistan does not recognize the Durand Line, 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.

In June last year, deadly clashes erupted between border guards of the two countries when Pakistan started working on an installation at Torkham – Landi Kotal crossing point that led to the closure of border.

Then again in May this year, another deadly clash erupted at Spin Boldak – Chaman over ownership of two villages that also led to the closure of the border for over a month.