Pakistan raises issue of dismantling Pak-Afghan border fence with Taliban
Dec 24, 2021
Islamabad [Pakistan], December 24 : Pakistan has raised the issue of dismantling the Pak-Afghan border fence with the interim Afghan government and demanded an independent probe into the incident, according to Pak vernacular media.
Pakistan has expressed grave concern over the use of Afghan territory against it and told Taliban officials that mischievous elements have tried to revive non-issues such as the Durand Line to disrupt Pak-Afghan ties, vernacular media reported citing sources.
Reportedly, Afghan officials were asked to conduct an independent probe into the incident.
Stressing that when the Taliban are not ready to recognise Afghanistan's border with Pakistan, a Senator in Islamabad lambasted the Imran Khan government and asked why this government is eager to help Kabul's new rulers get global recognition.
The Taliban forces on Sunday had stopped the Pakistani military from erecting the border fence along with Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar on Sunday.
"They are not ready to recognise the border, so why are we moving forward, Dawn quoted Senate chairman and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Senator Raza Rabbani as saying in the parliament on Friday.
He also asked Foreign Minister to take the parliament into confidence over the matter. So far, the Pakistan government has not commented on the matter. Rabbani questioned the government's haste to extend support to the Afghan Taliban when the latter did "not even recognise the border".
Pakistan shares a nearly 2,600 km long border with Afghanistan and Islamabad has been claiming that it has fenced most of the border areas. The fencing had been a contentious issue between the previous Afghan governments and Pakistan.
But the recent incident points towards that the border issue remains to be a contentious issue between Islamabad and new rulers in Kabul, according to Dawn.
Referring to the Pakistan government's talks with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan group, Senator Rabbani asked on what terms was the state talking about a ceasefire with the banned group.
The Senator also expressed concerns over the reports that TTP is regrouping in Afghanistan and in the near future the banned outfit can fuel terrorism in Pakistan.
