Afghanistan-Pakistan border gate dispute ends

KABUL over the construction of a security gate along the shared frontier was resolved on Monday when Islamabad agreed to stop renovating the post.

The Pakistani media cited an unnamed military official as saying Kabul dropped its objections after Islamabad said the gate in Mohmand tribal region that lies near the joint border would not be renovated.  
The issue stood resolved and Pakistani border gate would not be removed as it had been there for years, said the official privy to a meeting between Afghan army officials, headed by Afghan National Army Director General Military Operations (DGMO) Major General Afzal Aman.

The Afghan delegation visited the Pakistani military headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, a garrison city near Islamabad, and met Pakistan Army Director General Military Operations Ashfaq Nadeem Ahmed for talks on border coordination.
A Pakistani military statement said the meeting was held in a cordial environment. All ongoing cross-border coordination issues including border post construction in Mohmand Agency came under discussion and amicably resolved.

Both sides agreed on continuation of such bilateral interactions to enhance bilateral border coordination and reduce space for detractors, a military spokesman said.

In Kabul, Afghan Defense Ministry Spokesman General Zahir Azimi told a press conference that recent construction by Pakistan along the border was against international norms. He said Afghanistan would use all options to remove whatever Pakistan has built.

The decision comes hours after hundreds of university students staged a protest rally in the eastern city of Jalalabad against the gate’s erection near Gushta district of eastern Nangarhar province.

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