Pakistan to fence, mine border with Afghanistan

[Neo]

January 10, 2007 Wednesday

Pakistan angry at UN mission’s remark

ISLAMABAD, Jan 9: Pakistan on Tuesday took a strong exception to a statement attributed to the Deputy Special Representative of the United Nation’s Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) that criticised its plan to mine the border with Afghanistan and expressed concern about the alleged support in Pakistan for the Taliban movement. In a call to the UN mission the Foreign Office Spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said in a stringent statement issued here: “The UNAMA officials would be well advised to restrict themselves to their mandate and refrain from questioning the intentions and sincerity of Pakistan, which has done more than any other country in the international efforts against terrorism.”

Taking serious note of the statement, spokesperson Tasnim Aslam warned: “Unfounded statements such as attributed to the UNAMA officials by the UN News Service will certainly not help cooperation which is needed to address common challenges in the area to counter extremist and terrorist elements.”

She said that the Pakistan’s decision to selectively fence or mine the border was motivated by a need to control the two-way cross border movement by undesirable elements and added: “Those who criticise Pakistan’s decision should offer viable alternatives on controlling such activity.” Pointing out that the action taken by Pakistan had led to the arrest of several leading Taliban figures, she questioned: “One may ask how many Taliban on the list have been apprehended by the Afghan and multinational forces, especially when the statement implies their presence inside Afghanistan.”

http://www.dawn.com/2007/01/10/top17.htm

 

[Neo]

Pakistan erects eight electronic counters at Pak-Afghan border to check border movement of Taliban :thumbsup:

Wednesday January 10, 2007

BERLIN: The Government of Pakistan has installed eight electronic counters at Pak-Afghan border near Chaman to check the movement of Taliban.
This system will be formally inaugurated on January 10 and then only those will be allowed to move across the border that will bear computerized identity cards issued by the Government of Pakistan, VoG reported.

This decision not only will effect the employment of hundreds of people but also will cast negative impact on the collection of revenue worth billions of rupees.

According to VoG, Government of Pakistan has issued the order that every person at the time of crossing the border will get an identity card issued by the National Database and Regulatory Authority (NADRA) and some 6,000 cards have been issued to the traders so far.

However, the Government of Afghanistan does not recognize these cards and there is difference between the two governments on the issue.

Now this card will be formally inaugurated on January 10 and the people without these cards will not be allowed to enter Pakistan.

http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?165440

 

[sparten]

screw the un and the cancucks. mine the bloody thing.

 

[Neo]

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Pakistani tribesmen back Afghan border fence

WANA: Tribesmen from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) have announced support for the government’s decision to fence the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, but opposition to mining.

In a grand jirga on Saturday, tribesmen said the measure would bring an end to the Afghan authorities’ accusations of terrorist infiltration.

Tribal elders Malik Saifullah, Malik Gul Rahman, Malik Said Nawaz and Mushtaq Shalozani from North and South Waziristan and Kurram Agency addressed the jirga.

Pakistani tribesman, they said, had no role in the deteriorating law and order in Afghanistan. The fencing of the border would not divide families, they said, but “increase love among tribesmen”.

They said the people of the tribal areas had chosen to join Pakistan and were not taken into confidence earlier when the Afghans and the British made the Durand Line deal.

The jirga opposed the mining of the border saying the measure would risk the lives of innocent people and wildlife.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\01\14\story_14-1-2007_pg7_3

 

[JK!]

A lot of posts regarding civilian injuries. It should be made clear that mines are only good IF they are monitored by patrols and other means. Other fence systems (such as the Morice line) had patrols and rapid reaction forces alongside detection systems and mines.

If they don't operate this system, then the whole fenceline will simply be a big waste of time.

I have to agree with you

I have just finished reading Legionnaire by Simon Murray which is based on his diaries as a french foreign legionnaire in Algeria during the 1960s. By all accounts it was a next to impossible task to patrol the borders and keep out the enemy despite Kilometeres of fencing and mines and the enemy were easily able to penetrate through minefields and fences using Bangalores.

If they gots explosives for suicide bombings then coming up with homemade bangalores shouldn't be a problem.

Also in warrior race by Imran Khan which details the Pathan people in FATA has an anecdote where Imran Khan meets two boys who had found a way to diffuse old Soviet mines to sell.

 

[Spring Onion]

hahahha Karzai, anc Co is concern over fencing of the border why ???

hmm lest take the fencing will hit the Afghans hard.

If the border is closed several will stand up and cry of hunger.

 

[Neo]

Pakistan to fence border with Afghanistan

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan will erect fencing to reinforce parts of its porous mountain border with Afghanistan, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said Friday, while acknowledging for the first time that some outgunned Pakistani frontier guards have allowed militants to cross.
However, Musharraf denied that the Pakistani army or intelligence service was actively supporting Taliban militants, who have stepped up attacks in Afghanistan over the past year, sparking fighting that has killed thousands.

"There is no question of anyone abetting, but there are people at the tactical level who turn a blind eye ... and that needs to be corrected," Musharraf told reporters at his army office.

Musharraf had proposed fencing and mining the border under Western pressure to do more to prevent Taliban and al-Qaeda militants from using Pakistan's wild borderlands as a base for operations against Afghan and foreign troops on the other side.

Bolstering Pakistan's ability to combat the militants, the United States delivered eight attack helicopters to the key U.S. ally Friday. The Cobra AH1-F helicopters, specially equipped for nighttime operations, were part of a $50 million deal for a total of 20 refurbished helicopters.

"We understand and appreciate the very real sacrifices that Pakistan is making in the war on terror," U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker said at the handover ceremony.

Washington agreed last year also to sell F-16 fighter planes to Pakistan. However, legislation introduced in January in Congress would tie American military aid to Pakistan's performance in countering militants.

Crocker said he thought "such conditionality would be counterproductive."

In the border plan, a first phase would see fencing erected along seven or eight locations — a total of 22 miles along Pakistan's northwest frontier — and would take "a few months," Musharraf said. "The decision has been taken and movement of logistics must be taking place at the moment."

He said mines would not be used in the initial phase because of concerns raised by the international community. However, he said plans for a second phase still foresaw using both fencing and mines to secure 150 miles of the frontier further south, in Pakistan's Baluchistan province.

"No one has the right to criticize unless they come up with an alternative solution ... if there is no (other) solution, we will do it our way," Musharraf said.

There was no immediate comment from Afghan officials Friday.

Musharraf also repeated Pakistani complaints that it is being used as a scapegoat for the resurgence of Taliban-led militants. Afghan authorities and U.S. and NATO-led troops in Afghanistan shared responsibility for the border, he said.

"A misperception is being created that the resurgence of Taliban is from Pakistan. This is absolutely wrong. The resurgence of the Taliban is in Afghanistan, but some support goes from Pakistan," he said.

Pakistan had helped foreign forces "eliminate" Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Osmani — a top lieutenant of Taliban leader Mullah Omar — in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, just across the border from Pakistan, Musharraf said.

U.S. military officials in Afghanistan have privately said that Pakistan helped them locate Osmani, who died in an airstrike in December. He was the highest-ranking militant killed there since the ouster of the hardline regime in 2001.

Musharraf, a key ally in the U.S.-led war on terror, revealed that three times a top Taliban military commander, Mullah Dadullah, had been in Pakistan but evaded capture.

"Thrice we tried to get him, and thrice we failed," he said, adding that the attempts were the fruits of intelligence cooperation with Pakistan's anti-terror allies.

While he denied any official Pakistani collusion with militants, Musharraf acknowledged that there had been cases of security forces at isolated posts at the frontier letting fighters pass.

He cited an example of two guards, located 500 yards from their section base, being outnumbered by around 20 highly trained and motivated al-Qaeda militants.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-02-02-pakistan-fence_x.htm?csp=34

 

[Bull]

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has conceded that some border security forces have been letting Taleban fighters cross into Afghanistan.

He said that there had been incidents in which guards had turned "a blind eye" to the militants.

He again denied that his intelligence services were helping the Taleban.

The Afghan government and Nato forces have been critical of border security and called on Pakistan to do more to curb cross-border militant activity.

The president has also come under fire for pacts with tribal militants in the North and South Waziristan areas.

Critics say the deals give Taleban fighters based there freedom to go where they please.

'Difficult'

"We had some incidents I know of that in some [border] posts, a blind eye was being turned," President Musharraf told a press conference in Rawalpindi when asked about criticism of Pakistan's role in the US-led war on terror.

"So similarly I imagine that others may be doing the same."

Militants say they can move around the border area with impunity

The president said that it would be difficult for two border guards on a typical check post on the Afghan border when they are faced with a group of "20 well-armed, well-trained and well-motivated people challenging them".

The BBC's Haroon Rashid on a recent visit to the South Waziristan region met tribal militants allied to the Taleban who openly admitted crossing over into Afghanistan to fight foreign troops.

Gen Musharraf repeated Pakistani complaints that his country was being made "a scapegoat" for the resurgence of Taleban-led militants.

He pointed out that Afghan authorities, and US and Nato-led troops in Afghanistan shared responsibility for the border.


"A misperception is being created that the resurgence of Taleban is from Pakistan. This is absolutely wrong. The resurgence of the Taleban is in Afghanistan, but some support goes from Pakistan," he said.

'Our way'

The president also gave details of Pakistan's plans to build a fence along the Afghan border.

He said it would be 35kms (22 miles) long and that the first phase would see fencing erected at seven or eight locations along Pakistan's northwest frontier, which would take a "few months" to be completed.

"The decision has been taken and movement of logistics must be taking place at the moment," he said.

President Musharraf said mines would not be used in the first phase because of concerns raised by the international community.

But he said that it was possible that fencing and mines would be used to secure 250kms (150 miles) of the frontier further south, in Balochistan province.

"No one has the right to criticise unless they come up with an alternative solution ... if there is no (other) solution, we will do it our way," the president said.


'Fairly optimistic'

Turning to relations with India, the president said that confidence-building measures under the peace process that began three years ago were going well.

He said that he was "fairly optimistic" that the two governments would be able to move forward to resolve all issues in dispute, including the Kashmir question.

"Our relations have never been this good before in our history, and we ought to be happy about that," he said.

 

[Bull]

Well yeah pakistan a ally of War on Terror!!!

I think its better to say Mushraff is a ally of War on Terror, his countrymen / collegues in uniform doesnt seem to agree with him.

Isnt he ashamed to go and state something like that on air? Doesnt he realise that its not he alone that will be ridiculed but the entire nation?

Shame.

 

[blain2]

Well yeah pakistan a ally of War on Terror!!!

I think its better to say Mushraff is a ally of War on Terror, his countrymen / collegues in uniform doesnt seem to agree with him.

Isnt he ashamed to go and state something like that on air? Doesnt he realise that its not he alone that will be ridiculed but the entire nation?

Shame.

Bull why in the hell would anyone be ashamed? Its an immoral war that is being waged against the Afghans. Who in the world gave the US the right to invade Afghanistan? And what if Pashtuns are aiding others in Afghanistan? This is all a reality of the situation and should have been thought about by that **** for brains idiot sitting in the white house.

Who are we fooling with this War on Terror thing by turning it into an Anti-Pashtun thing? What Musharraf is doing is exactly right. He is admitting gaps in the ability of Pakistani forces to implement a security cordon. At least he is admitting which is more than what can be expected by the incompetent US and NATO leadership...(the less said the better it is about Karzai at this point in time).

I am glad Musharraf is pointing out the shortcommings and laying it bare so people know that its not a one-sided job and there are other local considerations which do not allow Pakistan to unilaterally take action only on its own side of the border. Now if someone has problems with it, they can either do something about it on the Afghan side of the border or shove it!

Pakistani position is slowly hardening too. There is only so much the govt would be willing to do before they so no and expect ISAF and the pathetic ANA to do more.

 

[Neo]

Saturday, February 03, 2007

35km of border to be fenced

Islamabad: President Musharraf has said that Pakistan would fence 35 kilometres of its border with Afghanistan to restrict the movement of Taliban militants.

Musharraf said he had ordered the action after western allies had failed to offer solutions to the problem, but added that Pakistan had deferred a plan to mine the frontier due to international concerns. He said the erection of the fence in seven or eight different pieces “will take a few months to execute”.

He added that Pakistan also planned to fence 250 kilometres of the frontier in Balochistan at a later date. Musharraf said that Pakistan had introduced biometric system at the Chaman border, which the other side should respect and not destroy.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\02\03\story_3-2-2007_pg1_3

 

[Janbaz]

Afghan camps 'to close by August'

Pakistan has announced it will close four Afghan refugee camps in its border provinces by the end of August.

The decision was made by a commission that also includes representatives from Afghanistan and the UN refugee agency.

This is part of an ongoing project to repatriate some 2.5m Afghans who have taken refuge in camps in Pakistan over nearly three decades.

But the Pakistani government has recently been stressing that these camps are also a security risk.

Decades of conflict

Around 300,000 people live in the four refugee camps.Two are located in the North-West Frontier Province, and two in the province of Balochistan.

Katchagari and Jungle Pir Alizai in Balochistan are to close by 15 June and Jalozai and Girdi Jungle will close by 31 August.

The refugees will be given assistance to return to Afghanistan if they want to, or they will be relocated to other camps.

Afghans took refuge in Pakistan to escape decades of conflict in their home country.

In recent months the Pakistani government and the UN have registered around 2m refugees.

Sense of urgency

Pakistan clearly sees this as another step towards sending all the Afghans home. "The ultimate goal is to repatriate all Afghan refugees now registered in Pakistan in three years, ending December 2009," said Sardar Yar Muhammed Rind, the government minister responsible for refugees.

Despite promises of help, many refugees do not want to return because they do not have land, shelter or jobs in Afghanistan.

But Pakistan has injected a new sense of urgency into the matter.

Increasingly Afghan and Western officials accuse it of harbouring Taleban insurgents who fight in Afghanistan.

The government here says the camps near the border do provide a sanctuary and should be removed.

UN officials have recognised the security concerns but stress that authorities must also recognise humanitarian needs.

BBC News South Asia.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6340163.stm

 

[Janbaz]

Very good going by the government. Camps lying in the border regions are extremely problamatic as individuals living there might assimilate with the intruders and violaters. Besides its time these people some pests return home to their mayor of Kabul, Karzai.

 

[Janbaz]

Pak shelves plan to mine Afghan border

BERLIN (Agencies) - Pakistan intends to fence off sections of its troubled border with Afghanistan but has shelved plans to lay mines along the frontier, the country’s Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri said on Thursday in Berlin.
“We have a vital interest in the stabilisation of Afghanistan,” Kasuri said after a meeting with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin.
Kasuri said a fence would stop militants crossing the mountainous 2,500-kilometre border, but Pakistan would like assistance from the European Union to realise the project.
Both ministers agreed about the importance of securing the Afghan border.
“We must improve the safety of Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan and curb illegal border-crossings,” Steinmeier said.
EU cooperation in Afghanistan was one of the issues Kasuri discussed with the German foreign minister, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union.
Other topics included Pakistan’s trade relations with the EU, combating the illegal drug trade and the fight against terrorism, Steinmeier said.
A joint declaration issued after the talks said the first meeting of the EU-Pakistan Joint Commission, set up under a cooperation agreement signed in 2004, would be held in Islamabad later this year.
Kasuri said the control of Pakistan’s frontier with Afghanistan was of major importance for bringing stability to its neighbour, where remnants of the ousted Taliban regime are battling NATO-led forces.
“Pakistan has offered to entirely fence the border,” Kasuri said. “In fact we wanted to mine the border so that there would be no movement across the border, but as a mark of respect to the sensitivities of our European colleagues, we have decided that we will not mine the border for the time being. We will only fence it in certain areas.”
The minister also called for EU help to repatriate Afghan refugees living in camps in Pakistan, who are seen by Islamabad as a source of recruitment for the Taliban. The Pakistan foreign minister also called for intelligence sharing and closer monitoring of the border, including aerial surveillance.


The Nation.
http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/feb-2007/9/index1.php

 

[Janbaz]

I believe the pressure got to the senior officials. Anyhow, the fence with survillence and adequate security checks will be able to stop infiltrators.