Infiltration from Afghanistan: Asif amenable to idea of fencing Afghan border

Says it should be done through an agreement between the two countries

ISLAMABAD:

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Thursday told the upper house of parliament that management of border between Pakistan and Afghanistan was an issue that required massive improvement.

He was replying to a query of Senator Muzaffar Hussain Shah, who – linking Wednesday’s Charsadda massacre with the cross-border movement between Pakistan and Afghanistan – had asked the government whether any steps were taken to address the issue.



Asif said thousands of people crossed the Pakistan-Afghanistan border every day. “The situation today is such that we do not have an effective control over our border with Afghanistan, which is why people who go from here have made sanctuaries over there and vice versa,” the minister said.

He said unlike the settled international borders that the country shares with Iran, India and China, the Pakistan-Afghanistan border requires more effective management and that infiltration should be stopped for all times to come.

Quoting historical issues on the border, he said: “This is a thorny issue between Afghanistan and Pakistan and it has been troubling our relationship with Afghanistan.”

Asif said this was one of the issues that should be negotiated with Afghanistan that there should be a mechanism whereby the border could be managed more effectively to stop infiltration from either side.



The minister said despite 183,000 troops manning the border, the government was already overstretched. He agreed to the proposal that there should be a fence to seal the border.

“However, it should be done through an agreement between the two countries. The process is long. Let’s hope we can close this border like any other border,” he said.

The minister said local tribesmen had been incorporated in border security systems through mobilising lashkars and peace committees. Moreover, Frontier Constabulary, Levies and Khasadar personnel guard joint points and patrol infrequent routes, dominating critical spaces.



Asif said devising internal security plan to cope with the situation arising in the country after the US army’s exit from Afghanistan relates to the Ministry of Interior. “However, Pakistan Army is fully prepared and vigilant to handle technical aspects of the border security after the US exit,” he said.

FATA domiciles

Since 2009, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has been in practice of verifying the domicile certificates of the tribal people from the concerned authorities of the Federally Administered and Tribal Areas (Fata) at the time of their appointment in the airline.

This was stated by minister in-charge of aviation division in a written reply to a question asked by Senator Taj Muhammad Afridi.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 22^nd,  2016.