The reported disruption on the Pak-Afghan border and the disagreement between Pakistan’s security forces and the Afghan Taliban brings back the old fencing issue. Afghan defence ministry spokesman claimed Taliban forces stopped the Pakistani military from erecting what he called an “illegal” border fence along the eastern province of Nangarhar.
A video circulated on social media showed Taliban soldiers had seized spools of barbed wire and one senior official asking Pakistani soldiers stationed in security posts in the distance not to try to fence the border again. A Pakistani official has also confirmed the development.
The official, who spoke to a group of journalists on the background, said: It has been decided at a senior level that fencing-related issues would in future be dealt with through mutual agreement. The official, however, did not exactly specify at which level the talks between Pakistan and de facto Afghan government were held
Our efforts in mediating between the Taliban government and the international community might not be enough to settle this problem once and for all, as is clear by the language used by the Afghan Taliban Defence Spokesperson. Calling the fence “illegal” reflects a complete reversion to the previous government’s stance.
Fencing has been a contentious issue in Pakistan-Afghanistan ties because the Afghans dispute the border demarcation done during the colonial period. Pakistan, however, insists that the line separating the two countries, also called Durand Line, is the valid international border.
Pakistan has been fencing the 2600-kilometer-long border with Afghanistan since 2017 to end terrorist infiltration and smuggling despite very intense opposition from Afghanistan. Besides erection of fence, the project also includes the construction of border posts and forts, and raising of new wings of Frontier Corps, the paramilitary force that guards the border.
The differences over the status of the border have been so intense that they have in the past resulted in several fatal clashes between the troops of the two countries. Moreover, Pakistani construction teams installing the fence have on a number of occasions endured cross-border attacks by terrorists.
Islamabad had always hoped that Afghan Taliban would help in settling the longstanding matter. However, that has not been the case. Taliban did not resolve the issue when they were in control of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 and have not done anything substantive to address it this time either so far.
Boundary disputes usually tend to fester and turn into areas of mistrust and acrimony between neighbours. One has to look no farther than the eastern frontier to see the evidence of this. Given that Pakistan’s relationship with the new interim government is amicable, this is the best time to strike any deal.
