January 11, 2007	Thursday	Zilhaj 20, 1427

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WASHINGTON, Jan 10: The White House has refused to take sides in the border dispute between Pakistan and Afghanistan, saying that since these differences concern two US allies it would be inappropriate for it to do so.

“I'm not going to get into disputes between states, both of whom are allies,” said White House Press Secretary Tony Snow when asked to comment on the dispute that followed Islamabad’s decision to fence parts of its border with Afghanistan.

“It is clear that the issue of border crossings is one of shared interest and concern,” he added. Pakistan has suggested fencing and mining parts of its 2,430km border with Afghanistan but Kabul, which does not recognise the Durand Line as an international border, rejected the proposal.

This led to a war of words between the two neighbouring states. Tensions between two key allies in the war against terror prompted the Bush administration to send its pointman for South Asia, Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, to the region to calm the situation.

At the White House briefing, Mr Snow acknowledged that the Taliban were “clearly trying to reorganise,” endorsing media reports that the religious militia has increased its activities across Afghanistan’s Pashtun belt which also borders Pakistan.

Mr Snow said it’s important to ensure that terrorists were unable to cross the Pakistan-Afghan border and “at least there's a greater capability of intercepting terrorists who try to make their way from the border regions into Pakistan.”

But he did not say how the present interception facilities could be improved.