A spokesman for the Taliban’s Ministry of Defence lashed out at the Pakistani authorities for construction of the border fence along the Durand Line, saying the country has ‘no right’ to divide the Pashtuns on both sides of the border.
Speaking in Dari, the spokesman for the Taliban Ministry of Defense, Enayatullah Khwarazmi, said that Pakistan had ‘no right’ to erect barbed wire along the Durand Line.
“Spoksman of ministry of Defence says that Pakistan has no right to erect barbed wire along the Durand Line and separate the tribes on both sides of the line.” #Taliban #Pakistan #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/OcUlaNfYvu
— Abdulhaq Omeri (@AbdulhaqOmeri) January 2, 2022
Skirmished along the Af-Pak border have become more prevalent in recent weeks. VOA reported that on December 21, four Pakistani troops were killed in the border town of Mir Ali in North Waziristan. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) took responsibility for the attack.
Similarly, undated video released by the Taliban on Twitter purportedly shows Taliban fighters destroying the border fence, driving trucks waving the Taliban’s white flag. Taliban forces have claimed they halted further construction of the fencing by Pakistani forces.
The claims were corroborated by he Taliban Defense Ministry spokesman, who said that Taliban forces had prevented the Pakistani military from building an ‘illegal’ border fence in the eastern province of Nangarhar, on 19 December.
Four years ago, Pakistan began fencing most of the frontier with Afghanistan along the Durand Line, with almost 90 per cent of the border fenced off today. The previous government in Kabul opposed the border fence. Recent incidents suggest that the Taliban have also taken issue with the border construction.
