Pakistan: Work on Fencing Border with Afghanistan On

Pakistan’s military is continuing with fencing work that will span the entire 2,600-kilometer border with Afghanistan in order to stop cross-border infiltration and militants’ attacks in the region, officials said. In phase one, 43 border posts have been constructed while 63 others are under construction in the Dir Lower, Bajaur, Mohmand Agency, and Khyber Agency border areas, and are due to be completed within two months, a high-ranking Pak security officer speaking on the condition of anonymity told Anadolu Agency. He said the plan also includes building 338 border posts and army forts along the border to stymie infiltration from Afghanistan. According to Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, who heads the Inter-Service Public Relations, a media wing of Pakistan’s army, the fencing plan will have two phases: the first already started in the Khyber Pakhtonkhwa and Fata, and the second in Baluchistan. Speaking to Express News on Friday, army spokesman Maj. Gen. Ghafoor said the border management plan, set to be completed within two to three years, is part of Pakistan’s efforts to eliminate terrorism and bring lasting peace to the region. “The Daesh terrorist group has been gaining strength in Afghanistan along the Pakistan border, as we heard media reports that the group has also captured Afghanistan’s Tora Bora area, so Pakistan will never tolerate any terrorist group setting foot on our soil and these are all efforts underway to eliminate terrorist groups,” he said. Meanwhile Afghan defence ministry in response to Ghafoor’s remarks said that Afghanistan is the victim of terrorism and Afghan security forces are combating the phenomenon. Gen. Mohammad Radmanish, deputy spokesman at Ministry of Defence (MoD), said that Pakistan should honestly fight against terrorism.