ISLAMABAD: Fencing of the 2,611-km-long Pak-Afghan border would be completed by December 2019, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Asif Ghafoor said Saturday.
In a statement on his Twitter handle, the ISPR chief said the work on forts and fence continued on Pak-Afghan border as 233 of 843 forts and fencing of 802 out of 1,200 kilometres priority one areas had been completed.
Work on forts & fence continues on Pak-Afg Bdr. Total length 2611 KM. Work on 233 of 843 forts & 802 of 1200 KM pri 1 areas completed.Aiming speedy completion in pri 1 areas,overall completion by Dec 2019 IA.Shall benefit peaceful people of Pak & Afg while restricting terrorists. pic.twitter.com/o5xQbxEiEh
— Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) December 15, 2018
“Border fencing would benefit peaceful people of the two countries, besides restricting terrorists,” he said, adding that they were aiming at speedy completion of the work in priority one areas.
The military-led construction effort went into action last year. The pair of nine-foot wire fences, with a six-foot gap, and topped with barbed wire, runs along rugged terrain and snow-capped mountains as high as 12,000 feet.
Officials estimate the project will cost over $550 million.
Earlier in the day, Pakistan, China and Afghanistan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) over anti-terrorism cooperation between the three countries in Kabul.
The MoU was signed by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and their Afghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani.
