ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s army on Thursday said that fencing along the 900-kilometer border with Iran would be completed by December 2021.
“As far as the Pakistan-Iran border is concerned, 30 percent of it has been fenced so far and I believe by December 2021 we will complete that,” Military spokesperson Major General Babar Iftikhar said in an interview with Global Village Space earlier this week.
“Now, there are just a few places in between which are snow-clad most of the time, and the terrain over there is really difficult, so those areas will be manned in another way, but we are trying to fence hundred percent of our Western border,” he added.
Pakistan began fencing its border with Iran last year, as part of its policy to enhance border security.
Earlier this year in April, Pakistan’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) approved PKR 3 billion ($18.6 million) as additional funds for the demarcation line which begins at the Koh-i-Malik Salih mountain and ends in Gwadar Bay, in the Gulf of Oman.
The border through a diverse landscape of mountain ridges, seasonal streams, and rivers is notorious for human trafficking, smuggling and cross-border militancy.
To address the issues, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in April last year, announced the formation of a joint reaction force between the two countries to combat militant activity along the border.
It followed a deadly attack on Pakistani security personnel on the coastal highway in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan, where 14 soldiers lost their lives.
Soon after the incident, Pakistan lodged a strong protest with Iranian authorities, saying that the attackers had crossed over from Iran, with Pakistan’s foreign minister saying that the border would be fenced “to ensure peace.”
For more than a decade, Pakistan has been battling an ethnic Baloch separatist movement, with armed groups carrying out frequent attacks against security forces and government targets in the Balochistan province, amid accusations of providing safe havens for insurgents in Iran.
Pakistan army says Iran border fence will be ready next year
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Pakistan army says Iran border fence will be ready next year
- 30% of work for over 900 km border has been completed, spokesman says
- Islamabad began fencing its border with Tehran last year as part of enhanced security measures
Pakistan says mosque data collection in Indian-administered Kashmir violates religious freedom
- Indian police distributed forms to collect details of mosques, including finances of institutions and personal details of imams
- The exercise has triggered widespread concern in the territory, with a local leader calling it ‘infringement of the religious freedom’
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday condemned reported profiling of mosques and their management committees in Indian-administered Kashmir, calling it “blatant intrusion into religious affairs.”
Police distributed forms to local officials to collect details of mosques, seminaries in Indian-administered Kashmir, including finances of the institutions, personal details of imams and members of management committees, Hindustan Times reported this week, citing residents.
The police referred to the busting of a “white collar terror module” last year, which included an imam, as the reason for the exercise that has triggered widespread concern in the territory, with National Conference leader Aga Ruhullah Mehdi calling it “infringement of the religious freedom.”
Pakistan’s foreign office said the forcible collection of personal details, photographs and sectarian affiliations of religious functionaries amounts to systematic harassment, aimed at “instilling fear among worshippers and obstructing the free exercise of their faith.”
“This blatant intrusion into religious affairs constitutes a grave violation of the fundamental right to freedom of religion and belief, and reflects yet another coercive attempt to intimidate and marginalize the Muslim population of the occupied territory,” the Pakistani foreign office said.
There was no immediate response from New Delhi to the statement.
Kashmir has been divided between Pakistan and India since their independence from Britain in 1947. Both countries have fought two of their four wars over the disputed region, which is ruled in part but claimed in its entirety by both India and Pakistan.
The Pakistani foreign office said the people of Indian-administered Kashmir possess an inalienable right to practice their religion “without fear, coercion or discrimination.”
“Pakistan will continue to stand in solidarity with them and will persist in raising its voice against all forms of religious persecution and intolerance targeting Kashmiris,” it added.
