Afghan, Pakistani forces clash along disputed border

By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) – Armed clashes erupted Sunday when Pakistani border guards tried to lay down barbed wire along the disputed frontier with Afghanistan.

A statement by the security headquarters in Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar province accused Pakistan of intruding on Afghan territory along the disputed Durand Line.

Zia Durrani, Kandahar police spokesman, told Anadolu Agency that following the clashes, Pakistan shut down the border crossing linking Spin Boldak in Afghanistan to Chaman in Pakistan.

According to local Pajhwok News, Gen. Abdul Raziq, the provincial police chief, two weeks ago warned Pakistani forces against proceeding with the controversial fencing plan.

Pakistan is pursuing a plan to lay down barbed wire on the 2,430-kilometer (1,509-mile) Durand Line. The two countries share 18 crossing points, including the heavily used Torkham-Landi Kotal crossing in the north and Spin Boldak-Chaman in the south.

Afghanistan does not officially recognize the entire line as an international border with Pakistan, seeing it as an annexation of “Greater Afghanistan” by the British raj in 1896 before Pakistan and India came into being in 1947.