Pakistan has conveyed its concerns at the highest level to the interim Afghan Taliban government over the repeated incidents where some local Taliban soldiers tried to remove fencing along the border
The Afghan Taliban leadership was told that Pakistan was observing "maximum restraint" to avoid any escalation in tensions, a senior Pakistani official told The Express Tribune here on Sunday
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue
Nevertheless, Pakistan is expected to issue a formal statement on the issue within 24 hours, as per official sources
In recent weeks, there have been repeated incidents along the Pak-Afghan border where some local Taliban soldiers tried to remove the fence
The first incident took place on December 18, a day before Pakistan was to host an extraordinary conference of the foreign ministers of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Afghanistan’s humanitarian situation
The acting Afghan foreign minister also attended the daylong meeting, which agreed to set up a trust fund to help Afghanistan prevent the humanitarian catastrophe
A video circulated on social media showed Taliban soldiers seizing spools of barbed wire and one senior official warning Pakistani soldiers stationed at security posts not to try to fence the border again
On Sunday, another video was shared on the social media showing Taliban fighters breaking polls one after the other using a truck
As per Kabul News, in a video statement the Afghan defence ministry spokesperson said they would not allow fencing since it "divides" the families on both sides of the border
There was no formal reaction from Pakistan to the remarks
But officials in background discussions said Pakistan was taking up the issue at all levels
According to Pakistan’s assessment, there seems some local Taliban commanders who were provoking Pakistani forces on their own
Pakistan, the official pointed out, was observing maximum restraint
One official claimed that the Afghan Taliban leadership was also worried about the conduct of their low-level soldiers since they understood the importance of Pakistan cooperation in this difficult juncture
Read More: Pakistan to help recover US hostage held by Afghan Taliban The official also said there were other elements such as smugglers who might be trying to exploit the situation
"That is why we are handling the situation with care," the official said
The official said there were other major issues to deal with and hence Pakistan did not want to get bogged down with these incidents
"We are looking at a bigger picture
There may be elements in Afghanistan who want to provoke us," the official said
But Pakistan, in a formal statement, is likely to make it clear that there will be no compromise on the border since it is a settled issue
The fencing would also continue, according to the official
The latest incident happened despite earlier claims by a senior official that both sides had resolved the issue
The fencing of the 2600-kilometre-long and rugged border has remained one of the contentious issues between Pakistan and Afghanistan
The previous administration in Kabul also objected to the fencing of the border and even the Afghan side tried to stop Pakistan from erecting a fence
Pakistan, however, went ahead with the fencing and as per officials, 90 per cent of the border with Pakistan is now fenced
The fencing is part of the border mechanism Pakistan has been working on for years in order to not just regulate the movement of people but to also deny terrorists on both sides to shuttle between the two borders easily
The fencing of the border has remained one of the contentious issues even during the previous administration
There were even border clashes in the past causing casualties
But Pakistan never backtracked from fencing the border as it considered the initiative as vital to prevent free movement of terrorists
In the past, Islamabad questioned Kabul's opposition to the fencing as it would benefit both sides
Date: | 04-Jan-2022 | Reference: | View Original Link |
---|