Pak-Afghan border fencing to complete by end of 2019: Pakistan Army

Pakistan has started fencing its border with Afghanistan to thwart the illegal movement of people and goods, military officials said. (Photo courtesy: ISPR)

MIRAN SHAH, Pakistan: Pakistan started fencing its border with Afghanistan to thwart the illegal movement of people and goods, military officials said.
Arab News visited the fencing area in North Waziristan and was among the media which was briefed by Inter Services Public Relations  (ISPR) on Friday regarding the fencing process.
The two countries share a mostly porous 2,600-km-long border. Military officials said 160 km of the border have already been fenced.
The whole fence will be completed by December 2019 at an estimated cost of 56 billion Pakistani rupees ($505.68 million).
The aim is “effective border control” that is “managed and regulated as per international best practices,” a military officer said.
A total of 750 border posts and forts will be built; 140 have already been built and 15 are under construction, officials said.
Pakistan plans to bolster its Frontier Corps (FC), which will take full responsibility for border security, said a senior FC officer.
A terminal is being built at Ghulam Khan, the third-largest border crossing with Afghanistan, which will reopen within a month after being closed since June 2014 due to a major Pakistani military operation, an official said.
“The problem is they (the Afghans) don’t have effective (border) control. Most of the areas on their side aren’t under their control,” said a military officer.
There are 93 Pakistani checkpoints along the border in North Waziristan, but only 11 on the Afghan side of the region, he added.
Pakistan started fencing its northwestern border with Afghanistan in 2017.