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Pakistan says fence along Durand Line is almost complete
Pakistan’s military has said it’s 2,600km fence along the porous border with Afghanistan will be completed within the next two months.
Speaking to VOA, Pakistan’s army media unit, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), said on Friday the fence has already been installed along about 83 percent of the border and hundreds of new outposts and forts have been built along the line.
The program was launched in 2017 to block militant infiltration, smuggling and other illegal crossings.
ISPR said two three-meter-high mesh fences, a couple of meters apart, have been filled and topped with coils of razor wire, running through rugged terrain and snow-covered, treacherous mountains at elevations as high as 4,000 meters.
The ISPR also told VOA that it has attributed a "massive decrease" in the number of terrorism-related incidents in Pakistan to the border security project but they say Pakistani troops involved in building the fence have also come under militant attacks from the Afghan side and in some cases clashes with Afghan security forces.
The border, or Durand Line as it is commonly referred to in Afghanistan, has historically been disputed as it was an 1893 British colonial era demarcation.
Pakistan rejects the objections and maintains it inherited the international frontier after gaining independence from Britain in 1947.
VOA reported that the Pakistani army is also working on enhancing the security of the country’s more than 900-kilometer southwestern border with Iran and has already fenced off about 30 percent of the frontier.
This project is expected to be finished by the end of 2021, according to the ISPR.
In a significant milestone for Afghanistan's infrastructure development, officials from the National Development Corporation (NDC) have announced that the second phase of the Qosh Tepa Canal in northern Afghanistan is now 81 percent complete, with the construction of its dam progressing steadily at 67 percent. This ambitious project is poised to transform the region, enhancing irrigation systems and boosting agricultural productivity.
The ongoing work on this irrigation project is taking place in the Andkhoy district of Faryab province, where hundreds of machines are actively involved. NDC officials have confirmed that the second phase of the canal will be completed in the coming months.
Nabiullah Arghandiwal, spokesperson for the NDC, stated, “The second phase of the Qosh Tepa Canal is currently 81 percent complete, with thousands of machines and workers engaged in the project.”
Arghandiwal also highlighted the construction of six large bridges along the canal in Balkh and Jawzjan provinces. Two of the bridges are completed, and the remaining four are expected to be operational soon.
Economic experts believe that once completed, the canal will help Afghanistan achieve self-sufficiency in grain production and generate numerous job opportunities in various sectors.
Young workers involved in the project have expressed their satisfaction with the employment opportunities it provides. They are calling on the government to launch similar development projects to combat youth unemployment.
Abdul Ghani, a worker, remarked, “This project is progressing very well, and I urge the Islamic Emirate to implement similar projects.”
It is important to note that the entire funding for the Qosh Tepa Canal project is sourced from domestic revenue.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday reiterated his call for improved relations with Afghanistan but emphasised that Kabul must rein in Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) first.
While addressing a cabinet meeting, Sharif said that Afghanistan was Pakistan’s “brotherly neighbour”, and that it was Islamabad’s heartfelt wish to improve relations with Kabul, especially with regards to the economy and trade.
“Unfortunately, the TTP is operating from Afghanistan and carrying out terror attacks and killing innocent people inside Pakistan. This cannot go on,” he said.
“We have conveyed to the Afghan government that we desire good ties with them but TTP should be stopped from killing our innocent people. This is a red line. TTP operating from there against Pakistan is unacceptable.”
Sharif reiterated his call to the Afghan government to devise a concrete strategy, saying that Pakistan was ready for dialogue.
“But the policy of talks and allowing TTP to operate against Pakistan can’t go simultaneously,” he said.
Meanwhile, Pakistani military's spokesman Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry said on Friday that Pakistan has consistently worked towards establishing peace in Afghanistan, however, despite these efforts, terrorist activities originating from Afghan soil continue to pose a threat to Pakistan.
He emphasised that the roots of terrorism are often traced back to Afghanistan, and Pakistan remains determined to dismantle terrorist networks without compromise.
Pakistani officials have repeatedly claimed that attacks in the country are carried out from Afghanistan. However, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has denied the allegations saying that Afghanistan is not responsible for Pakistan's "security failure."
The latest remarks by Pakistani officials come three days after the country carried out airstrikes in Afghanistan's Paktika province, killing at least 46 people.
The Defense Ministry of the Islamic Emirate said that the strikes were against the international principles, which will not be left unanswered.
A Chinese company has expressed interest to invest in building a hydroelectric dam on the Kokcha River in northeastern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Energy and Water said on Thursday.
The ministry said in a statement hat the head of the Chinese company met with Sirajuddin Wahaj, provincial director of energy and water in Takhar, and the technical team of the ministry.
The technical team of the ministry and the provincial director of energy and water in Takhar welcomed the company's interest and promised cooperation in this regard.
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