Pakistan begins fencing of Afghan border

 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has started phased fencing of its 2,430 kilometres porous border with Afghanistan to effectively control incursion of terrorists as well as movement of drugs, arms and ammunition smugglers.

Well-placed security sources told The Nation that the Frontier Corps Pakistan has started fencing of key border points of about 1,300 kilometres long border with Afghanistan in the Fata and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

According to informed sources the Frontier Corps is using different means to fence the critical points, which otherwise are difficult.

Apart from fencing, aerial surveillance and special radar systems are being placed to check and hunt down suspected terrorists trying to infiltrate into Pakistan for terrorist attacks.

Pakistan has already completed excavation work on several hundred kilometres long trench on 1,100 kilometre Chaman-Kandhar border in Balochistan province.

The 11-foot-deep and 14-foot-wide trench completed in 2013 on the entire stretch of the border is greatly contributing in effective border management.

Pakistan Army in the previous Corps Commanders Conference held on March 9th announced to carry out phased fencing of border in the Fata and KP on Thursday.

According to the plan government will construct four more check points in South Waziristan, North Waziristan, Kurrum and Mohmand agencies in addition to Torkham check post in Khyber to help facilitate legal entrants.

The announcement came following heightened wave of terrorist attacks in Pakistan from Afghanistan side, which killed more than 100 innocent people including men, women and children last month.

Consequently, Pakistan Army launched a country wide operation Raddul Fasaad in which more than 100 terrorists have been killed, while hundreds of suspects have been rounded up through unabated intelligence-based operations (IBOs).

The government also sealed Pak-Afghan border to check flow of suspected terrorists, besides targeting militants of Jamat-ul-Ahrar near Afghanistan border and killed dozens of terrorists.

Jamat-ul-Ahrar had claimed responsibility of a number of terrorists’ attacks it carried out across the border including in Lahore.

Pakistan also shared with Afghanistan a list of 76 terrorists and sought action against them who had fled the country during the military operations and are using Afghan soils to destabilise Pakistan.

In the past Pakistan has requested Afghanistan for an effective border management to check and curb cross border movement of terrorists for the establishment of lasting peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan.           

 

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