Fencing spat: Qureshi hopes for diplomatic solution

PESHAWAR (Pajhwok): Pakistan claims having received a positive response from Afghan officials to its offer for talks on the issue of fencing the Durand Line.

Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi told reporters in his hometown of Multan on Friday that erecting the fence along the Durand Line was in the interest of both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

It would help regulate trade and facilitate people’s movement, he believed, saying the move would keep unscrupulous elements at bay, APP news agency quoted him as saying.

“It is meant to regulate movement across the Durand Line through visa and we are moving forward to that end,” the foreign minister explained.

Qureshi said he was optimistic the issue would be resolved through diplomatic channels. “There were some incidents that we have taken up with the Afghan authorities.

“Our talks are ongoing and they have given a positive response. We must not forget there are spoilers who do not wish to see the exemplary friendly relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan moving forward.” Qureshi said,

Pakistan had been trying to raise the issue of a humanitarian crisis and economic collapse in Afghanistan at different forums.

Amid tensions over the fencing of the Durand Line, Pakistan’s National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yusuf will visit Kabul soon.

The decision came at a meeting of the Afghanistan Inter-Ministerial Coordination Cell (AICC) in Islamabad, a government statement said.

The meeting agreed a delegation, led by the NSA, would visit Afghanistan soon for further engagement with Kabul on assistance-related prospects.

No date for the visit was announced at the meeting, but Dawn quoted an official as saying the trip might take place on January 17-18.

“We will finalise the delegation in a couple of days and then decide on the date,” the unnamed official told the newspaper.

Earlier, Pakistan had reportedly proposed to the Afghan government on an exchange of visits to defuse renewed tensions over the fencing of the Durand Line.

NSA Moeed briefed the AICC on the progress made so far on various initiatives undertaken by the forum to facilitate the process of humanitarian assistance for the Afghans.

National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, who chaired the session, was told that Pakistan’s aid package for the Afghans included the immediate delivery of food, life-saving drugs, winter supplies and shelter.

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