Re: Pakistan to Fence and Mine Border with Afghanistan (merged)
Aziz officially says Afghan refugees should go home
Pakistan Premier Wants Afghan Refugees to Return Home
KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan. 4 — Pakistan’s prime minister, Shaukat Aziz, said Thursday that he wanted the three million Afghan refugees still living in Pakistan to go home as one way to end the problem of insurgents using the country as a haven.
It is the first time Pakistan has been so blunt in demanding that the Afghans, to whom it has served as host for more than 20 years since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, leave.
Mr. Aziz arrived here for talks with the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, in an effort to smooth tensions between the neighbors, but after more than two hours Mr. Karzai acknowledged that relations were only growing worse.
“Unfortunately, the gulf in relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan is getting wider, and it is not getting narrower,” Mr. Karzai said after their meeting.
The two leaders emerged with no agreement on the main areas of contention, namely Pakistan’s plan to fence and mine the border, and Afghanistan’s project to convene two tribal gatherings, or jirgas, of national representatives from both countries, to try to foster peace between the countries.
Shortly before the meeting, Pakistan announced that it was going ahead with a plan to fence and mine the long mountainous border. Afghanistan has repeatedly condemned the project as a diversion from the real problem of terrorism, which it says is being incubated in Pakistan. Pakistan has also dragged its feet on organizing the tribal gatherings, promising only to form a commission to work on the idea.
“The Afghan people want to remove all those obstacles which create the divide in our relations,” Mr. Karzai said. “Those obstacles are created by terrorist activities which are hindering Afghanistan’s reconstruction and making our schools burn.
“Security will not come to Afghanistan unless together we and Pakistan, with good and friendly relations, become tough in the fight against terrorism,” he added. He said he wanted to hold the tribal jirgas so people could speak their minds.
Without offering specifics, Mr. Aziz said the two leaders agreed to work on resettling three million Afghan refugees back in Afghanistan and removing the sanctuary that refugee camps provide to insurgents.
“Refugee camps on our side of the border sometimes are safe havens for elements who are from Afghanistan and take safe haven there after conducting activities,” he said.
He also defended Pakistan’s plan to fence and mine the border as one way to restrict the movement of people who represent a threat to security. “We believe that selective fencing and mining can help achieve the objective,” he said, adding that the fence and mines would not prevent the ordinary crossing of local tribes.
Re: Pakistan to Fence and Mine Border with Afghanistan (merged)
Pakistan is now pursuing a twin strategy to counter Karzai’s claims about terrorism from Pakistan side of the border.
Fence and mine sections of the border.
Return the 3 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan to Afghanistan.
Pakistan Premier Wants Afghan Refugees to Return Home
Pakistan’s prime minister, Shaukat Aziz, said Thursday that he wanted the three million Afghan refugees still living in Pakistan to go home as one way to end the problem of insurgents using the country as a haven. It is the first time Pakistan has been so blunt in demanding that the Afghans, to whom it has served as host for more than 20 years since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, leave. Mr. Aziz arrived here for talks with the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, in an effort to smooth tensions between the neighbors, but after more than two hours Mr. Karzai acknowledged that relations were only growing worse. “Unfortunately, the gulf in relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan is getting wider, and it is not getting narrower,” Mr. Karzai said after their meeting. The two leaders emerged with no agreement on the main areas of contention, namely Pakistan’s plan to fence and mine the border, and Afghanistan’s project to convene two tribal gatherings, or jirgas, of national representatives from both countries, to try to foster peace between the countries.
Shortly before the meeting, Pakistan announced that it was going ahead with a plan to fence and mine the long mountainous border. Afghanistan has repeatedly condemned the project as a diversion from the real problem of terrorism, which it says is being incubated in Pakistan. Pakistan has also dragged its feet on organizing the tribal gatherings, promising only to form a commission to work on the idea. “The Afghan people want to remove all those obstacles which create the divide in our relations,” Mr. Karzai said. “Those obstacles are created by terrorist activities which are hindering Afghanistan’s reconstruction and making our schools burn. “Security will not come to Afghanistan unless together we and Pakistan, with good and friendly relations, become tough in the fight against terrorism,” he added. He said he wanted to hold the tribal jirgas so people could speak their minds. Without offering specifics, Mr. Aziz said the two leaders agreed to work on resettling three million Afghan refugees back in Afghanistan and removing the sanctuary that refugee camps provide to insurgents. “Refugee camps on our side of the border sometimes are safe havens for elements who are from Afghanistan and take safe haven there after conducting activities,” he said. He also defended Pakistan’s plan to fence and mine the border as one way to restrict the movement of people who represent a threat to security. “We believe that selective fencing and mining can help achieve the objective,” he said, adding that the fence and mines would not prevent the ordinary crossing of local tribes.
Re: Pakistan to Fence and Mine Border with Afghanistan (merged)
oh his druglord/ warlord pals would not be too happy, and they may even be ticked off at him about it, so i doubt he would sleep any better, because he knows what they can do to him.
Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao said Monday that the fencing work at Pak-Afghan border across the Chaman border has been completed and after other arrangements, the border along NWFP will be saved in the second phase. He was talking to pressmen at inauguration of a private company’s assembling plant by the prime minister. Aftab Ahmed Sherpao said that the fencing at Pak-Afghan border is aimed at blocking the illegal transportation through the border; the work on Chaman border has been completed, where electronic card would be utilized to pass through it. Besides, on four other places and the border along NWFP would be fenced in the second phase, he added.
Re: Pakistan to Fence and Mine Border with Afghanistan (merged)
excellent.
I mean aside from extremists from afghanistan coming over to pak and all, it would also disrupt the drug supply, and the smuggling of cars and bikes snatched in pakistani cities, to end up in afghanistan.
regular law abiding citizens from both countries should not have much issues following the proper protocols to cross national borders at designated checkposts and entrypoints, and should not have issues providing proof of who they are etc.
Re: Pakistan to Fence and Mine Border with Afghanistan (merged)
**Pakistan installs biometrics system at border crossing with Afghanistan
**
Pakistan on Wednesday opened its first biometrics system screening travellers at a land border point with Afghanistan, as a measure to curtail cross-border movement of militants, an official said. The sophisticated identification system was inaugurated at the main border crossing between southern Afghanistan and Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province, near the Pakistani town of Chaman, said Brig. Akhtar Hussain Shah, an official with the government National Data and Registration Authority that issues identity cards to Pakistani nationals. After it was inaugurated, some 40 people were screened through the system that records a person’s fingerprints, retinas or facial patterns, for identification, Shah said. Pakistani authorities will issue biometrics compatible “border passes” to residents of Chaman and the surrounding Qila Abdullah district, to help them travel to Afghanistan after being identified through the system, he said.
Shah said that new measure at the border crossing near Chaman was an effort in the fight against terrorism. “This is a step that we have taken to stop terrorism and to stop any illegal movement” across the border, he said. Ethnic Pashtun tribesmen in Pakistan and Afghanistan, living close to the Pakistan-Afghan border, are allowed to travel across the frontier without passports but with special identity permits under an arrangement between the two countries to help members of the divided tribes visit each other. The Afghan-Pakistan border runs through rugged mountains, deserts and is not clearly demarcated at places where it splits tribespeople. In recent months, Pakistan has faced repeated accusations by Afghan officials that leaders of the Taliban militia are present in or near Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan, and orchestrate attacks inside Afghanistan. Pakistan denies the Afghan charge, saying it has deployed some 80,000 troops along its Afghan border to track down the militants. Late last year, Pakistan announced that it will build fence and plant landmines at sections of the border to stop illegal cross border movement. Afghan officials have rejected the proposed Pakistani measure, saying it will not help stop terrorists but only divide the tribes.
Re: Pakistan to Fence and Mine Border with Afghanistan (merged)
And now this:rolleyes:
Chaman border crossing closed
By Our Staff Reporter
QUETTA, Jan 11: The Pakistan-Afghanistan border at Chaman was closed on Thursday after a large number of Afghans living in Vesh, a business centre across the border, stoned the newly-built Friendship Gate, smashing windowpanes of several departments of Pakistan, and demanding the new system’s immediate abolishing.
According to reports reaching here, the Afghans were protesting against the newly-introduced Biometric Computerized Control System by Pakistan at its side of the border.
Pakistan has introduced the new system to check illegal border crossing.
A complete strike was observed in Vesh against the Pakistan government’s move.
The border was later reopened in the afternoon to facilitate women and children after negotiations between officials of Pakistan and Afghanistan
A Pakistani security official told Dawn by telephone that no-one would be allowed to cross the Pakistan-Afghan border without computerised pass.
Re: Pakistan to Fence and Mine Border with Afghanistan (merged)
I haven't read any replies here. I just want to register my protest at this decision. Every innocent life lost will be on Government's and Army's hands.
Re: Pakistan to Fence and Mine Border with Afghanistan (merged)
and what about every innocent life that would be saved because idiots (either the militants themselves or the simpletons they incite to go and fight), are not able to cross teh border, or think twice about doing it?
Re: Pakistan to Fence and Mine Border with Afghanistan (merged)
Fraudia Bhaijaan, the problem with your argument is that it can be applied to any thing and get away with it. For example, I say why profile me and make me wait for an hour before I board the plane? The TSA person says, well, look all the lives I have been saving since 9/11. I say why not shut down gitmo, CIA say look at all the great intelligence we have been extracting from these people. I say why attack Iraq and kill the innocent, Bush say don't you appreciate all the 'terrorists' we have killed so far so you can keep living your comfortable life?
If it is such a grand idea, then maybe we should encourage India to mine the Kashmir border too.
Re: Pakistan to Fence and Mine Border with Afghanistan (merged)
AJ
There is no reason for anyone to cross the border illegally. Eeveryone should be crossing the border at designated checkpoints, showing proper Id and having proper authorizations.
it creates zero problems for anyone who wants to cross the border legally.
sure India can border kashmir border as well. upto them
Re: Pakistan to Fence and Mine Border with Afghanistan (merged)
Fraudia Bhaijaan, while we were at it, lets do the same for mahico border. We have tooo many latinos. In my perfect world, it will also create zero problems for anyone who wants to cross the border legally.
Re: Pakistan to Fence and Mine Border with Afghanistan (merged)
Fencing is one thing, I want to mine the whole damn thing!
On a more serious note, according to the Red Cross 26,000 civilians die each year by land mines around the world. Mines that were laid down with the very pristine intentions of keeping the "bad guys" away. More than half are women and children.
You ask why don't they cross the border legally? Well, in most cases they are running from one war to another, the other country doesn't let them in legally, if they stay they will get killed anyway, so they take a chance. Often, like in the case of Afgans they are illiterate to read the signs, even if adequately posted. Why can't they read, I am sure thats their fault too. Its a cheap and dirty way of playing war fare, African war lords do it, Milosevic did it in Bosnia, Israel did it with its border with Labanon this past summer. Imagine if they start doing it with their imaginary border with Palestinians.
It is stupid to believe that it will stop the in-out flux of 'terrorists' along the border. If they can evade the sophisticated American technology and self proclaimed strong Pakistan Army, what are a few mines for them. They can and do make tunnels, they can capture their enemy and walk them to clear the mines, and if they truly have training camps, whats stopping them to learn and clear the mines themselves. It is no rocket science.
I can bet you, a year from now, US/Afgan will still be complaining about the cross border stuff and Pak Army will still be saying we are doing all that we can.
Re: Pakistan to Fence and Mine Border with Afghanistan (merged)
These Afghans must be peeved that they can no longer cross so easily into Pakistan. Why does Karzai have so much trouble keeping his people in their own country?
Re: Pakistan to Fence and Mine Border with Afghanistan (merged)
I dont think they are mining the fence anymore… A representative from Canada was in Pak recently and I think they decided against mining… But not sure yet.