May 18, 2007	Friday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 01, 1428

ISLAMABAD, May 17: Pakistan has informed the United States that fencing and mining of its border with Afghanistan alone can stop cross-border movement of militants but it does not have enough resources to do that.

Dawn has learnt that National Security Adviser Tariq Aziz and Prime Minister’s Adviser on Federally Administrated Tribal Areas Sahibzada Imtiaz took the position in their talks with a visiting US special envoy.

Ambassador Ronald Neumann had told reporters after the talks on Wednesday that Pakistan had done much in fighting the US-led war on terror but not to its full capacity.

Sources said Mr Neumann was told that it would be too much to expect Pakistan to control the over 2,000-kilometre-long Pakistan-Afghanistan border on its own and that too without fencing or mining the most-used crossing points – something Kabul and Washington oppose.

Sources said Mr Neumann promised more US financial and technical assistance for strengthening border control but urged the Pakistani officials to take

Kabul’s objections into account and Nato and allied forces into confidence on its fencing project.

Mr Neumann was keen to strengthen the Frontier Constabulary and other agencies operating in tribal areas.

Sources said that the US envoy was also told that Pakistan has already fenced its border at about eight points along Pak-Afghan border and some more important areas needed to be fenced.

The US envoy was informed that there was also a need to ‘revitalise and reorganise’ Levies to maintain law order within the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas agencies besides enabling them to effectively discharge their duties.

Sources said that the US envoy was also told that without strengthening Levies and other agencies operating in the area, it would be difficult to eliminate smuggling, kidnapping and poppy cultivation and drug trafficking from the area.

“We need to strengthen the government’s writ to effectively implement state polices and orders of judicial authorities in “Federally Administrated Tribal Areas,” a source said.

Sources said that multi-pronged development strategy for Federally Administrated Tribal Areas envisioned improvement in the security environment by having well-trained and organised levies forces at the disposal of the political administration.

Three agencies – Bajaur, Kurrum and Orakzai –have Levies force, responsible for maintenance of law order.

The force has now been extended to other agencies and Lakki Frontier Region.

They have been issued proper weapons and are paid salary by the government.