Pakistan has decided to start fencing the porous Pakistan-Afghan border at Chaman to stop the illegal influx of visitors from the other side, a security official said on Wednesday.
"Work on fencing at the border will be started very soon," Brigadier Nadeem Sohail, the sector commander of Frontier Corps (north) Balochistan told a tribal jirga.
Tribal elders from Chaman and various surrounding villages participated in the jirga, where ways and means to ensure legal movement at the border were dicussed.
The jirga decided for the evacuation of population from the red zone — houses located at the border — to ensure legal movement and safety.
"Villagers will be compensated as per their documents," Brigadier Sohail said.
Islamabad had decided to fence its western border in order to stop infiltration of militants on both sides of the frontier but facilitate legal movement.
Brigadier Sohail said all arrangements have been made and work on fencing will start soon. “Both Pakistan and Afghanistan would benefit from this move,” he said.
“This will not affect trade between the two countries,” the sector commander said, adding that scanners will be installed at the border to check trucks entering Pakistan from Afghanistan.
He also said unnecessary check posts located at Quetta-Chaman national highway will be removed and special trade cards be issued to people living near the border.
