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Pakistan completes 94% of border fence, despite ‘isolated’ incidents
The Pakistani military has said the fencing project along the Durand Line with Afghanistan will continue despite issues raised in recent weeks.
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar said on Wednesday that 94% of the border fence has been completed and that work on the remaining section continues.
“We are totally focused, and under the western border management regime, the work that is underway will be completed sometime soon.”
He also said the border management process would be improved.
“The blood of our martyrs was spilled in erecting this fence. It is a fence of peace. It will be completed and will remain [in place].”
Although the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) considers good relations with Pakistan to be a priority, footage published on social media that emerged this week allegedly shows IEA border forces destroying sections of the fence.
Iftikhar made it clear that Pakistan considers the Durand Line as the international border between the two countries. “It is an internationally recognised border,” he added.
When asked whether the government had raised the issue with the Afghan government, about the damage, Iftikhar said western border management had “local and strategic dynamics”.
He said the recent damage to the fence, allegedly by IEA forces, was “one or two localised problems”, which he said was being discussed by the governments of both countries.
“We have very good relations. We understand each other and keep talking about different issues that keep surfacing. There is no problem, fencing is underway and will continue.”
“The fencing should be stopped as a first step and the issue should be resolved through diplomacy. If the former government officials have signed any agreement with Pakistan on this issue, they should be held accountable to the Afghan people,” said Mohammad Saddiq Shinwari, an Afghan military analyst.
Since the beginning of the Islamic Emirate’s take over in the country, Pakistan has said the Afghan border forces have repeatedly clashed with the Pakistani military over the fencing.
However, the Islamic Emirate does not consider the matter a serious problem between them and officials have said that the improvement of relations with neighboring countries is a priority and that the fence problems are isolated incidents.
“The position of the Islamic Emirate is that it wants good relations with all countries, especially neighboring countries, and the small clashes that have occurred near the zero points are at the local level, and any concerns have been resolved and we do not have any concerns at the border or line level between the two countries,” said Bilal Karimi, IEA’s deputy spokesman.
Two days ago, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also reacted to the Afghan forces’ move to stop the fencing and said that Pakistan will continue fencing the border.
Afghanistan has received more than $11 billion in humanitarian assistance since the Islamic Emirate returned to power in August 2021, according to United Nations figures cited by the BBC.
Despite the substantial aid, the gap between humanitarian needs and available funding remains wide, with the United Nations warning that millions of Afghans continue to require assistance.
The decline in international funding, a growing number of people in need and the return of millions of Afghan migrants from neighboring countries have added pressure to the country’s humanitarian situation.
Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis deepened following the collapse of the previous government in August 2021. The depreciation of the national currency, the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs and reductions in some international support programs further strained the economy and living conditions.
UN data shows that Afghanistan received about $5.2 billion in humanitarian assistance in 2021, followed by around $3.8 billion in 2022 and nearly $2 billion in 2023.
For 2024 and 2025, the United Nations appealed for more than $3 billion to address humanitarian needs in Afghanistan. However, funding fell short of the amounts requested.
The assistance has largely been directed toward food, healthcare, support for returnees and other urgent humanitarian needs.
The United Nations continues to classify Afghanistan as one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, stressing that sustained international support remains essential for millions of Afghans who continue to need assistance.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has expressed deep sorrow over a powerful earthquake that struck eastern Indonesia, killing at least 53 people and forcing around 5,000 others to evacuate.
A magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck Flores Island and surrounding areas on Saturday, blocking roads and triggering landslides, Indonesian authorities said.
In a statement, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs conveyed its sympathy and condolences to the government and people of Indonesia over the casualties caused by the earthquake.
It also wished a speedy recovery to those injured in the incident.
Afghanistan’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, Nooruddin Azizi, met with Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Jamshed Khojaev in the city of Termez to discuss expanding economic cooperation and joint investment.
The meeting, held on Saturday at the Termez Trade Center, focused on cooperation in the electricity, mining and agriculture sectors, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce said in a statement.
Uzbek officials expressed interest in investing in various sectors in Afghanistan. The Afghan delegation welcomed the interest and emphasized its readiness to create the necessary conditions for expanding economic cooperation and joint investment.
Mohammad Yousuf Wafa, governor of Balkh, and Abdul Ghaffar Bahr, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Tashkent, also attended the meeting.
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