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Pakistan says will complete fencing along Durand Line after Taliban consent

AT News

KABUL: Pakistan will complete the remaining fencing work along the Durand Line with the consent of Afghanistan’s Taliban regime, taking into account their concerns and reservations, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad said on Friday.

Pakistan has completed almost 90 per cent fencing work along the 2,670-km international border to stop an easy passage for militants. However, Afghanistan has contested the century-old British-era boundary demarcation that splits families on either side.

Addressing a press conference here, Ahmad said that more than 2,600 kilometres of the border had been fenced and exuded hope that the remaining 21km would be completed “with the consent of our brothers”.

Fencing along the border has always remained a contentious issue between the two countries, and periodic skirmishes have been reported in the recent past.

Earlier this month, Mawllawi Sanaullah Sangin, Commander of the Taliban, issued a stern warning to Pakistan, saying it will not allow fencing in any form along the Durand Line.

“We (Taliban) will not allow the fencing anytime, in any form. Whatever they (Pakistan) did before, they did, but we will not allow it anymore. There will be no fencing anymore,” Sangin had told Tolo News.

Sangin’s sharp reaction comes following Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s recent comments that this issue would be resolved peacefully, through diplomatic channels.

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