Advisor to Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz has said that Islamabad is looking to impose a firm grip over the country’s porous western borders with Afghanistan.
Aziz said that Pakistan will the expedite visa-issuance process and special passes will be issued to people from the border region in a bid to facilitate their cross-border movements.
“Even at the moment, the Pakistani government is issuing up to 2,000 visas to Afghans every day. This is a process and we will know the outline of the new border management once Afghanistan and Pakistan work out its details.
We cannot let this border remain porous. At the moment we only have two legal border crossings. We will increase them and will facilitate the legal movement of people with visas or border permits,” Aziz said.
Aziz said that the Pakistani and Afghan security officials will soon be holding a meeting to discuss the issue of regulating cross-border movement.
Aziz said Islamabad wants to address Afghan concerns about cross-border attacks and India has also been approached to refrain from providing support to rival Afghan factions after the withdrawal of the NATO forces from Afghanistan next year.
‘We have told India that supporting different factions in Afghanistan is not good. What Afghans decide among themselves is acceptable to everyone. With the two countries (India and Pakistan) having their own separate favourites does not help the situation in Afghanistan, keeping in view the regular interference,” he stated.
Islamabad to impose control over Pak-Afghan border: Aziz
