Afghan Army Stops Construction Of Border Fence By Pakistan Army, Taliban Holds Investigation

Illustration of Afghanistan's border with Pakistan (Wikimedia Commons/US Armed Forces/Master Sgt. Michael O'Connor)

JAKARTA - Taliban troops disrupted the construction of a security fence by the Pakistani military along the border between the two countries, Afghan officials said Wednesday.

Pakistan has fenced off most of the 2,600km (1,615-mile) border despite protests from Kabul, which has always opposed the British-era demarcation of the border separating families and tribes on both sides.

Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Enayatullah Kwarazmi said Taliban forces stopped Pakistan's military from erecting an "illegal" border fence along the eastern province of Nangarhar on Sunday.

He played down the incident, saying everything was now normal. Meanwhile, the Pakistani army did not respond to requests for comment.

A video circulating on social media shows Taliban soldiers having confiscated a coil of barbed wire. A senior official warned Pakistani soldiers stationed at a security post at a distance not to try to fence off the border again.

Afghan soldiers and Pakistani soldiers on the border of the two countries. (Wikimedia Commons/US Air Force Tech. Sgt. Francisco V. Govea II)

Reuters was unable to independently verify the video. Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi said they were investigating the incident.

Taliban and Pakistani forces came head-to-head over the border incident, two Taliban officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity and the situation was tense.

They added that following the incident there was cross-border mortar fire from Pakistani territory further north along the border into Kunar Province, Afghanistan on Wednesday.

It was not clear if the incidents were related. Officials said Afghan military helicopters were seen patrolling the area.

The fence was the main reason behind the deteriorating relationship between the previous US-backed Afghan Government and Islamabad. The current stalemate suggests the issue remains a contentious issue for the Taliban, despite its close ties to Islamabad.

Foreign governments have long accused Pakistan of supporting the rebel movement while battling the US-backed government and Western forces, a charge Islamabad denies.

To note, the lawless mountainous border has historically fluctuated before Pakistan started erecting the metal fence four years ago, which is 90 percent complete.

The border incident occurred on a day foreign delegations from around the world gathered in Islamabad for a summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), to discuss the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan.