Pakistan says it has
“amicably resolved” a dispute with Afghanistan over the construction of a
controversial border gate, the latest in a series of incidents straining an
already fragile bilateral relationship that many consider vital to promoting
the Afghan peace process.
Known as the Durand
Line, the 2,400-kilometer, porous stretch of border is recognized by Pakistan
but not by Afghanistan, and it remains a major irritant between the two
countries.
Authorities in Kabul
have lately accused Pakistan's military of constructing a new gate in a border
area inside the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar, a charge Islamabad
denies.
On Sunday, Afghan
President Hamid Karzai ordered his top officials to take immediate action to
remove the gate and nearly a dozen other Pakistani installations built on the
Afghan border.
Speaking to reporters
in Kabul on Monday, Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman General Zahir Azimi
maintained that no construction activity on the border can be initiated unless
approved by both the countries.
Azimi says that
“establishing a gate by Pakistan on the Durand Line and inside Afghanistan is
against all international norms as well as bilateral understandings."
Azimi was addressing
reporters together with Gunter Katz, spokesman for the NATO-led International
Security Assistance Force (ISAF). General Azimi alleged that Pakistani border
forces transferred 11 checkpoints across the Durand Line.
Katz says the coalition
is looking into the issue but refused to make further comments.
“ISAF continues to monitor
the situation at the border and we remain in dialogue with the Afghan and
Pakistani side on a constructive way ahead,” he said.
In a surprise
development on Monday, Pakistan declared the dispute had been resolved after an
unannounced meeting between senior military commanders of both countries in
Rawalpindi, where the Pakistani army is headquartered.
An official statement
said that the Afghan delegation, led by Director General Military Operations
Major General Afzal Aman, had discussed and amicably resolved the border post
construction with his Pakistani counterpart. The Pakistani statement also
repeated that the construction is taking place in the Pakistani tribal district
of Mohmand that borders Afghanistan.
“[We are] hopeful that
the situation would calm down,” said Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Islamabad’s foreign
ministry spokesman, explaining that both countries will shortly hold a joint
high-level meeting focusing on peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan.
Recent Afghan
statements perceived as being anti-Pakistan have angered officials in Islamabad
says Maleeha Lodhi, a former Pakistani ambassador.
“Pakistan, Afghanistan
and the United States will have to work together to find the kind of outcome
that I am sure each one of them wants, which is a peaceful and stable
Afghanistan," she said. "So challenge is great, time is short, and
there are many obstacles, including President Karzai’s own behavior.”
Diplomats and analysts
in Islamabad say tense relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan could
complicate efforts to bring about the orderly withdrawal of international
forces from Afghanistan and bring the Taliban to the negotiating table to end
the Afghan conflict.
Sources :
http://www.voanews.com/content/afghanistan-pakistan-border-gate-durand-line/1641879.html
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