NEW YORK, Sept 12: Pakistan on Monday told US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that it was willing to fence its border with Afghanistan to dispel allegations that Islamabad was not doing enough to stop cross-border infiltration.

“We are fed up with these allegations and we have offered to fence the border but so far Afghanistan has not responded to our proposal,” said Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri while briefing journalists about a meeting between President Pervez Musharraf and Ms Rice.

“There are people who say that President Musharraf wants to stop infiltrations but some in the ISI do not. We want all such allegations to stop. That’s why we have proposed this fence,” said Mr Kasuri.

“This was a pleasant surprise for her,” said the foreign minister when asked how the US secretary of state responded to the proposal.

Pakistan, he said, had a vested interest in peace and stability in Afghanistan. “Three years ago, our trade with Afghanistan was only $30 million a year. Now, with improvement of peace in Afghanistan, it has increased by 40 times.”

Mr Kasuri said that peace in Afghanistan did not suit Afghan warlords and drug traffickers and they stirred trouble and put blame on Pakistan.

He acknowledged that the proposed fence could create problems inside Pakistan where, as a report suggested, local Pashtuns might oppose the proposal.

“We will deal with these problems when we come across them. Right now, we want to silence those who blame Pakistan for everything,” he added.

Mr Kasuri said that the US officials were aware of Pakistan’s efforts to help restore stability in Afghanistan and were “very happy with our efforts” but there were “some in the media who blame us.”

He said President Musharraf also told Ms Rice that Pakistan had deployed additional troops along the Afghan border to help Afghan authorities in holding of parliamentary elections.

“I cannot explain as to how much Ms Rice was appreciative of our efforts,” he added.

AFP adds: The minister said his government had yet to hear a response from Kabul on the proposal.

Last week, Pakistan said it was sending 9,500 extra troops to the border ahead of the Afghan elections.

Some 5,000 soldiers were to be deployed in the FATA and 4,500 to Pakistan’s south-western border in Balochistan.