Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Taliban regime to 'disallow' further fencing of Pakistan border

Taliban regime to 'disallow' further fencing of Pakistan border

AFGHANISTAN'S Taliban regime has said it will not allow fencing by Pakistan in any form along the Durand Line.

It issued a stern warning to Islamabad amid tensions between the neighbouring countries on the contentious issue of border fencing, a media report said.


“We (Taliban) will not allow fencing in any form. Whatever they (Pakistan) did before, they did, but we will not allow it anymore. There will be no fencing anymore,” Mawllawi Sanaullah Sangin, the commander of the Taliban, told Afghanistan's Tolo News on Wednesday (5).

Sangin's sharp reaction comes following Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi's comments earlier this week that the issue would be resolved peacefully, through diplomatic channels.

“Certain miscreants are raising the issue unnecessarily, but we are looking into it. We are in contact with the Afghan government. Hopefully, we would be able to resolve the issue diplomatically,” Qureshi said during a press conference in Islamabad on Monday (3).

The Durand Line, the 2,670-km international border between Afghanistan and Pakistan has witnessed periodic skirmishes between forces of the two countries.

Last month, a clash was reported at the south-eastern Nimroz province after Pakistan forces tried to extend barbed fences into the Afghan territory, with the Taliban forces promptly retaliating by tearing them down.

On December 22, both sides were at loggerheads again this time at the eastern Nangarhar province, according to Afghanistan-based Khama Press news agency.

Pakistan has completed almost 90 per cent of the fencing work along the border despite protests from Kabul, who contested the century-old British-era boundary demarcation that splits families on either side.

Successive regimes in Afghanistan, including the US-backed governments in the past, have disputed this demarcation, which has historically remained a contentious issue between the two neighbours.

The border, known internationally as the Durand Line, was named after British civil servant Mortimer Durrand, who had fixed the limits of British India after consultation with the then Afghan government in 1893.

(PTI)

More For You

Streeting hails India’s global role as Labour backs bilateral relations

Wes Streeting addresses the Republic Day reception at the Guildhall in London last Tuesday (28),joined by Sir Lindsay Hoyle and Vikram Doraiswami

Streeting hails India’s global role as Labour backs bilateral relations

WES STREETING spoke of the priority prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour government attach to relations with India when he addressed a Republic Day reception at the Guildhall in London last Tuesday (28).

But the secretary of state for health and social care won over the large Indian crowd by paying an unexpected tribute to Rishi Sunak.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sri Lanka seeks to negotiate with Adani over renewable energy plants

Gautam Adani

Sri Lanka seeks to negotiate with Adani over renewable energy plants

SRI LANKA’S government started talks with India’s Adani Group to lower the cost of power from two wind power projects the group will build in the island nation’s northern province, the cabinet spokesman said last Tuesday (28).

Sri Lanka has been reviewing the group’s local projects after US authorities in November accused billionaire founder Gautam Adani and other executives of being part of a scheme to pay bribes to secure Indian power supply contracts. Adani has denied the allegations.

Keep ReadingShow less
Badenoch proposes stricter citizenship rules for all migrants

Kemi Badenoch delivers speech on January 16, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Badenoch proposes stricter citizenship rules for all migrants

CONSERVATIVE PARTY on Thursday (6) proposed a clampdown on all migrants by tightening citizenship rules and barring social benefit claimants from residency rights.

Kemi Badenoch, who took over from Rishi Sunak in November last year, outlined her first major policy agenda as Tory leader in a move seen as an attempt to win back the support of Conservative voters drawn to the far-right anti-immigrant Reform party.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pakistan court gives unusual punishment to Youtuber Rajab Butt for owning lion cub

Pakistani zookeeper Mohammad Amir holds the confiscated lion cub at Lahore’s safari zoo last Tuesday (28)

Pakistan court gives unusual punishment to Youtuber Rajab Butt for owning lion cub

A PAKISTANI YouTube star who was gifted a lion cub on his wedding day avoided jail after promising a judge to upload animal rights videos for a year.

Rajab Butt has one of the largest online followings in south Asia, and his week-long nuptials in December were plastered over celebrity gossip websites.

Keep ReadingShow less
Theft and violence in retail shops hit record high in 2024

The Labour government has pledged to address the rise in retail crime through stronger measures to tackle shoplifting and anti-social behaviour

iStock

Theft and violence in retail shops hit record high in 2024

THEFT and violence against retail workers in Britain soared to record levels last year, driven partly by criminal gangs, and are “out of control”, according to a report last Thursday (30).

The British Retail Consortium's annual crime survey found that more than 20 million thefts occurred in the year to August 31, 2024 – an average of 55,000 a day – costing retailers £2.2 billion.

Keep ReadingShow less