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Notwithstanding vocal protests from Afghan leaders, Pakistan has said it will start mining and fencing its porous border with Afghanistan next month after addressing all reservations of the United Nations. Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said the Geneva Convention prohibited the laying of landmines, but it was not prohibited if an area was "marked properly". "We will not violate UN resolutions and mark the area where landmines will be planted. We will educate tribal people on both sides of the border about the presence of landmines," he said. Afghan President Hamid Karzai, UN officials and NWFP based political parties criticised the move, saying that it would divide families of Pushtoons living on both sides of the border. Afghanistan also views it as an effort by Pakistan to legitimise the Durrand Line, the historical name of the border between the countries, which Kabul rejects. UN has criticised Pakistan's plans to erect fence and lay landmines along some portions of its border to stop militants from crossing into Afghanistan. The world body has expressed fears that such a step would add to civilian casualties. "We are doing our best to stop the cross-border movement of terrorists as we have deployed 80,000 troops, established over 800 check-posts and now fencing and land mining are being put in place," he was quoted as saying by 'Dawn' newspaper. "This is the best we can do, but the Afghan government is still indulging in a blame game instead of appreciating Pakistan's efforts to stop infiltration of terrorists into Afghanistan," Sherpao said. Sherpao said Pakistan will create exit and entry points in the fence to ensure the cross-border movement of tribal people. An exit point has been created at Chaman, Balochistan and three more points have been identified, he said adding the process of establishing exit and entry points would be completed next month. Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam also defended the government's decision to fence the border, saying Pakistan faced a difficult situation on bordering areas with Afghanistan and army has been asked to work out the modalities for both selectively mining and fencing the long border. The Afghan side also is doing nothing in this connection, she said in an interview to BBC. "We have already taken a number of steps. And we have more than 80,000 troops, we have established checkpoints and we have also introduce identification documents as it is very difficult to identify who is a Taliban and who is not," she added. "Quite unfortunately that was not working. We have accusations every day, we have been suggesting to the Afghan also for almost a year now that both sides should fence and mine the border but obviously they have not responded favourable to that," she said "Now we are going ahead and the army has been asked to work out the modalities for both selectively mining and fencing the long border," she said. "The army has to work it out because it is big problem, there are passes, there are places form where it is not possible for us to monitor the entire border especially when there is reluctance on the other side," she said. --- PTI
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