What happened: Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid Ahmed announced that Pakistan would complete its fencing of Durand line by 30th June. The minister informed the house that 88 percent of the border with Afghanistan has already been fenced and the rest would be completed by the end of June. Backstory : Pakistan shares a long porous border of around 2640 km with Afghanistan. The fencing of Durand Line began in March 2017 after looming threats of terrorism from across the border. Due to disputes over the domain of Durand Line from Afghanistan, Pakistan’s attempts to fence the border were halted. However, with Biden announcing withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan by September 11, the socio-political situation of the country is uncertain.
We went to Afghanistan because of the horrific attacks on 9/11 that happened 20 years ago.
That cannot explain why we should remain there in 2021.
Rather than return to war with the Taliban, we have to focus on the challenges of the future.
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 14, 2021
Due to potential troubling security implications within Afghanistan, Pakistan has escalated the fencing process to ensure peace on its tribal belt on the border. Pakistan’s fencing the line faced serious backlash by the residents of the two sides due to porous and shared economic, ethnic and cultural values. However, the Pakistani government is determined to fence the border before the complete pullout of US forces. Click here for more from ProperGaanda.