Pakistan to complete fencing of border with Afghanistan by August 14

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has announced that the fencing work along the Afghan border would be completed by August 14 amid fears of a new refugee crisis due to the large-scale violence in Afghanistan.

Pakistan has already ruled out taking any more refugees due to the ongoing refugee crisis at the Afghan border, The Express Tribune reported.

This comes as the UN has said it is witnessing "very intensive movements" of internally displaced Afghans towards the country's borders as violence escalates.

Earlier this month, UN Deputy Special Representative Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan Ramiz Alakbarov said: "We are also seeing very intensive movements of the population to the areas, adjusting to the orders, where Iranian and Pakistan borders are now largely closed, and the people are using the illegal border crossing trying to move through those borders."

During a presser on Monday, Pakistan Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed had said that the fencing along the Afghan border would be completed by August 14. He said that 46 to 48 per cent of fencing on the border with Iran had also been completed.

The minister said there have been thousands of foreigners living in Pakistan over the last many years without renewal of visas. Rashid also asked these foreigners to leave Pakistan before August 14 or get their visas renewed through an online application.

Amid the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan due to the US drawdown from there, Pakistan's regular army has been deployed at the border areas with the neighbouring country. "Now regular army troops are manning the border after replacing the paramilitary forces," the Pakistan Interior Minister was quoted by the Dawn.

The decision to deploy the army was made amid the uncertain situation in the war-torn country as the Taliban stepped up its offensive since the start of US troops' withdrawal from Afghanistan.