Border fence

Pakistan's urge to erect a border fence with Afghanistan parallels Trump’s push to build a wall on its Mexican border

Pakistan’s decision to erect a border fence with Afghanistan parallels President Donald Trump’s push to build a wall on its Mexican border. Work on its 1,403-km-long fence has begun and 482 kms have been erected, to the dismay of Afghanistan. Although a divisive move, the influx of negative elements from Afghanistan has led to the vast detriment of Pakistan. Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan has been poorly protected and managed over the last several decades. Thus, this is overall a sensible move to keep more trouble from seeping in and dealing with what is already within our borders.

Further commendable is Pakistan’s planning with regard to the establishment of certain rules governing the border. Along with being equipped with cameras and detectors, the checkpoint will require that travellers carry appropriate documents in order to enter the country. The documents required to enter should be communicated widely to the Afghan people. Given the perpetual instability in that country, Pakistan should continue to expect more hopefuls though perhaps fewer than before. Furthermore, a provision for secondary review should be established in the case that a refugee genuinely requires to evacuate the country. Humanity must not be lost in this move to establish a fence and protect the country in its own interests. Just as students have been issued special visas to continue studying here, labourers and other workers should also be provided temporary permits. There is a caveat to allowing emergency patients to enter without documents and there is always a chance of abuse of this rule especially with terrorist elements abound.

Over the years, Pakistan has compromised in a vast number of areas resulting in damage to its infrastructure, destruction of cultural heritage sites and loss of human life. Whether elements from Afghanistan were directly involved in these acts or not, the fence should have been established years ago but previous governments had other priorities. We are hopeful this measure should result in a safer Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 30^th, 2018.

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