Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

Senators Allege Deal on Durand Line Fencing

Senators Allege Deal on Durand Line Fencing

KABUL - Some Meshrano Jirga or upper house members on Tuesday alleged the Afghan government had reached an agreement with Pakistan on fencing the Durand Line.
However, President Ashraf Ghani has said that dividing the nation through fences was impossible.
Sher Mohammad Akhunzada, a senator from southern Helmand province, told Tuesday’s session that there were reports that the government had reached an agreement with Pakistan about fencing the Durand Line.
“Based on the agreement, six gates would be installed on the Durand Line”, he said, without providing details.
“Fencing the Durand Line is unacceptable for Afghans and the Afghan government has no authority to sign such agreements”, he said.
He said the Afghan government’s silence over the issue proved it had reached an agreement with Pakistan.
But President Ashraf Ghani during his a trip to Paktia province last Sunday said that any type of attempts at dividing the nation would fail.
He added: “Those who think they can divide people by installing fences, they should rethink, even cannons and bombardments did not divide us so one should never think we would be divided by fence.”
First deputy chairman, Mohammad Alam Izdyar, also said the installation of fences on the border was underway amid rumors the Afghan government had reached an agreement with Pakistan on the issue.
He said Afghans had been sacrificing their lives for the Durand Line over the four decades so their sacrifices should not be ignored, he said.
Senators Rahmatullah Achakzai and Rona Tari were also of the same view and demanded suspension of the fencing.
Chairman Fazal Hadi Muslimyar said fencing the Durand Line was against international norms and Pakistan could not take such an action. He said the Afghan government should stop Pakistan from fencing the border.
The Meshrano Jirga summoned deputy foreign minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai to brief senators about the quadrilateral meeting held last week in Muscat.
The meeting was attended by representatives from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the US.
Karzai was asked questions about fencing of the Durand Line by Pakistan and interferences of some other countries.
However, the session went off-camera at the request of Khalil Karzai and the meeting continued behind closed-doors. (Pajhwok)