Pakistan starts fencing of its border with Afghanistan

A Pakistan army soldier stands guard in the Pakistani tribal area of Khyber near the Torkham border post between Pakistan and Afghanistan. (Photo by AP)

Pakistan will soon begin the construction of a fence across its porous border with Afghanistan in order to improve security.

The Pakistani army said in a statement on Tuesday that the first phase of fencing would focus on the northwestern tribal regions of Bajur, Mohmand and Khyber.

The military said new forts and border posts would be built in order to improve surveillance and defense.

Pakistan’s restive northwestern tribal region along the border with Afghanistan is regarded by authorities as an area prone to cross-border infiltration.

Pakistan says its recent move to fence the crossings is aimed at curtailing the movement of militants and stopping them from entering the country.

Both countries have long pledged to improve security in the region and go after militant groups based in the rugged and mountainous border areas. But the exact location of the border has long been disputed by Kabul.

The Pakistani military has dismissed Afghanistan's criticism of the fencing plan, saying the activity is being performed well inside the Pakistani territory.

Last year, Pakistan started building a barrier at the main border crossing in the northwestern town of Torkham. The move irked the government in Kabul.

This photo taken on February 9, 2017 shows a Pakistani soldier standing guard at the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan at the Torkham Border Post in Pakistan. (Photo by AFP)

The two countries are in a dispute over the demarcation of the border, which is a key battleground in the fight against the Taliban.

Islamabad recognizes the Durand Line, the 1896 British-mandated border between the two neighbors, but Kabul says activity by either side along the line must be approved by both countries.

Successive governments in Afghanistan have never recognized the British-drawn colonial era border line with Pakistan.

An Afghan border police stands guard at the Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan on February 17, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Pakistan and Afghanistan regularly accuse each other of sheltering their enemy insurgents. Both sides, however, deny such an allegation.

Kabul blames elements inside the Pakistani spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for supporting the Taliban militants, while Islamabad blames the Afghan government for giving refuge to militants on its side of the border. The two sides also accuse one another of not doing enough to stop militants engaging in cross-border raids.

On June 6, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani accused Pakistan of instigating an “undeclared war of aggression” against his country after a series of deadly bombings in the capital Kabul.

In February, Islamabad decided to close the Torkham and Chaman borders with Afghanistan following a wave of deadly attacks across various parts of Pakistan.

In addition, the Afghan-Pakistani border has been tense in recent months.

Dozens of people have been killed in a series of cross-border clashes between the Pakistani and Afghan forces over the past months.