Pakistan to build fence along disputed Afghan border
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan says it has started building a fence along the Afghan border in areas where it says militants have launched cross-border attacks, a move that could worsen tensions with Afghanistan, which has never accepted the colonial-era frontier.
Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, the head of Pakistan’s armed forces, announced the construction of fencing in “high threat zones” Saturday during a visit to tribal regions along the border, saying it was in the interest of both countries.
The two countries share a 2,400-kilometre (1,500-mile) internationally recognized border known as the Durand Line, which was drawn in the 19th century, when the British dominated South Asia.
The Afghan government has never recognized the border, which runs through the Pashtun heartland, diluting the power of Afghanistan’s largest ethnic group on both sides.