ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office said on Thursday that Pakistan would go ahead with its plans for regulating the border with Afghanistan as part of its counterterrorism strategy and urged the Afghan government to cooperate.

“We are determined to put in place effective border control on the border crossings. The cooperation of the Afghan government can play an important role in achieving our shared objective of promoting lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region,” FO spokesman Nafees Zakaria said at his weekly media briefing.

The comments came ahead of a meeting of the ‘political leadership’ of the two countries expected in Tashkent on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, which is under way these days. The FO spokesman did not specify the level at which the interaction is likely to take place. President Mamnoon Hussain and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz are in Tashkent for the summit.

Afghans have remained opposed to regulation of the over 2,500km border because they do not recognise it as the international boundary. The latest flare-up at the Torkham crossing erupted after Pakistani authorities started fencing the border crossing and installing a gate there.

A six-member delegation, led by Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai, visited Pakistan this week for discussions on the issue and an understanding was reached that a border coordination mechanism should be put in place to prevent any untoward incident. The issue is to be further deliberated upon at the expected meeting in Tashkent.

“As I told you earlier there is a possibility of the top leadership meeting on the sidelines of the SCO meeting during which, among other issues, effective border management will also be discussed,” the spokesman said.

But he made it clear that Pakistan would carry on with its border management plan irrespective of the outcome of the political engagement.

“We have taken necessary steps to ensure smooth implementation of the border management system. We have said this time and again that border management is a central plank of our counterterrorism policy in the region, particularly to prevent cross-border infiltration which is main cause of terrorism in Pakistan,” Mr Zakaria said.

“Our position is very clear on this — that structures being built in Torkham and elsewhere are being built on Pakistani territory,” he said in response to a question, dismissing Afghan reservations over the move to check unauthorised cross-border movement.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2016