ISLAMABAD -  The United States has no objection to the Pak-Afghan border fencing aimed at stopping infiltration, The Nation has learnt.

Seniors officials at the foreign ministry said that Washington believed Pakistan had a right to secure its border but wanted Islamabad to take Kabul into confidence on the issue.

“In principle, the US has no objection to the border fencing. They are concerned about Pak-Afghan ties and wants us to engage in a dialogue process to defuse tension,” a foreign ministry official said.

He said that Pakistan had told Washington and Kabul that border fencing was aimed at ensuring peace and was not a step against Afghanistan. “This is aimed at improving ties. When the infiltration will stop, we will definitely have better ties,” the official elaborated.

Earlier, vice spokesperson for Afghan Interior Ministry Najeeb Danish said that border fencing was unacceptable.

Over the weekend, army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa announced that fence-installation had begun along Pakistan-Afghanistan border. General Bajwa said that fence-installation was aimed at securing borders, which was mutually beneficial for Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Recently, Pakistan-Afghanistan border at Chaman and Angoor Adda was sealed over escalated tensions. Islamabad demanded of the Afghan government to take action against terror outfits that were using its soil against Pakistan. The demand came as a fresh wave of terrorism hit Pakistan claiming more than 100 lives and wounding scores of others. The cities of Lahore, Quetta, Sehwan Sharif and Peshawar were hit by terrorists in the recent strikes.

Pakistan later reopened border crossings with Afghanistan as a goodwill gesture, but with a hope that Kabul would address its concerns about terrorists’ sanctuaries along the border. This week, former president Asif Ali Zardari said that border fencing with Afghanistan would help eliminate cross-border terror. He expressed the hope that the move to begin border fencing would be welcomed by all those wanting an end to militancy and to the counter-productive allegations of cross-border incursions.

Another official at the Foreign Ministry said that Afghanistan could not stop Pakistan from fencing its side of the border.

“We are not going on their side, so they can’t stop us. They can protest only if we encroach (upon) their area,” he added.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said that Pakistan had urged Afghanistan to stop the use of its soil by terrorists against Pakistan.

He said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had decided to open the borders as a goodwill gesture. “It is expected that the Afghan government will take measures to address the reasons that led to the closure of the border,” he added.

Zakaria said the recent meeting in London – between Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and Afghan National Security Adviser Hanif Atmar – also focused on the need for an institutional mechanism for counter-terrorism cooperation, to which Afghan side agreed.

Last week, Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani had said “optional routes are available for Afghanistan” if the “enemies” blocked the trade route to the country. Ghani claimed that Afghanistan had become an inseparable part of the Central Asia. He maintained that the northern Kunduz, Mazar and Herat provinces will be connected via railway network that will eventually connect Iran and China via Afghanistan.

International affairs expert AZ Hilali said that Islamabad had been asking Kabul to act against the terrorists for the last 10 years but Afghanistan was not responding positively. “Pakistan wants joint efforts against terrorism as it is a common threat to both the countries. Afghanistan should understand this,” he said.

Hilali said that Pakistan had been a major victim of terrorism since 2001. “We are facing internal and external terrorism. Pakistan and Afghanistan need to join hands to defeat terrorism,” he added.

Defense Analyst Brigadier Mehmood Shah (retd) said that Pakistan needed effective border management with Afghanistan. “Afghan refugees should be sent back. Afghan president says he does not recognise the Durand Line. Afghanistan should take this issue at the international forums, if they have a case but Afghan government does not [have] any moral courage to do it,” he said.

Brigadier Shah said that Pakistan’s security was at stake at the Pak-Afghan border. “Afghanistan should act against the terrorist hiding on its side of the border. They should not play games with Pakistan,” he contended.