Pakistani fence plan opposed on invisible Afghan border

KULLI MUSA, Pakistani-Afghan border, Jan 10: The unmarked border between Pakistan and Afghanistan passes invisibly through Kulli Musa village.

Now its ethnic Pashtun residents are alarmed by a Pakistani plan to fortify parts of the frontier to stop Taliban rebels crossing over to fight Afghan, NATO and US troops on the other side.

''How can we allow fencing and mining between us. We will never accept this. Not at any cost,'' said Dost Mohammad, a bearded, turbaned villager from Kulli Musa.

The border snakes 2,500 km through rocky mountains and across deserts and is a major front line in the US-led war on terrorism.

The fiercely independent Pashtun tribes have never paid much heed to the boundary dividing their lands.

''Half of our village mosque is in Pakistan and the other half in Afghanistan,'' said Mohammad, fingering a string of prayer beads as he spoke.

His brother's home is just across the border dividing the collection of mud-walled houses lying partly in Pakistan's Baluchistan province and partly in Afghanistan's Kandahar province.

Last year was the bloodiest in Afghanistan since US-led troops ousted the Taliban in 2001. Most of the violence was in provinces bordering Pakistan.

Pakistani forces have also been battling pro-Taliban militants on their side of the frontier, and President Pervez Musharraf fears the Taliban insurgency could escalate into a ''peoples' war'' because of the alienation of Pashtuns, particularly by the Afghan government.

Pakistan, which has far more troops manning the border than Afghanistan and its Western allies, hopes fencing and mining on parts of the border will end accusations it is not doing enough to stop militants from infiltrating into Afghanistan.

But the plan, announced last month, has further strained relations with Afghanistan, which says Pakistan should instead tackle Taliban sanctuaries.

Part of the problem is that Afghanistan does not recognise the colonial-era border, and argues that fortifying it would split Pashtun communities spread across both sides.

''MORE DESTRUCTION''

Despite the conflict, normal life goes on in one of Pakistan's most deprived regions.

''Government people know better about fencing the border but may Allah damn those who lay mines. They'll kill our youngsters,'' said Hajania, 45, a villager who regularly drives her donkey cart across the border.

''We're poor people, we have no hostility with anyone.'' Villager Hayat Khan, 50, said: ''Pashtun tribes have already been destroyed by the bombing and fighting. Now they want to destroy us further.'' There has been a reduction in militant attacks on the Pakistani side since the military forged a pact in September with tribal leaders in North Waziristan, a hotbed of Taliban and al Qaeda support in Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal region.

But US forces complain of increased attacks in Afghanistan.

The border was a Cold War front line in the 1980s when Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the West backed Afghan holy warriors and foreign militants battling Soviet occupiers in Afghanistan.

The Taliban, who are mostly Pashtun, emerged from religious schools on the border in the early 1990s.

Although recognised internationally, the border, known as the Durand Line after the British colonialist who drew it in 1893, has soured ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan since Pakistan was founded in 1947.

Afghans say it was imposed under duress and robbed Afghanistan of Pashtun lands to the west of the Indus river.

MILITANTS, SMUGGLERS

Pakistani border security officer Colonel Masood Ahmed believes the fencing and mines will end illegal movement.

''Landmines will be laid three yards apart. Passing through them will not just be difficult but impossible,'' Ahmed said.

''The Afghan government's concocted allegations against Pakistan have become routine. It's a good way to protect the international frontier.'' An Afghan counterpart says the fortifications won't work.

''Fencing and mining won't end cross-border Taliban movement,'' said Lieutenant General Abdul Razaq Khan in the Afghan border town of Spin Boldak.

''Pakistan should end Taliban training camps in its territory.

The problem can't be solved by creating difficulties for the people.'' The crossing between Spin Boldak and the Pakistani town of Chaman is the only legal crossing point on this part of the border.

Thousands of people pass through its Dosti, or friendship gate, every day.

But countless numbers -- villagers, smugglers and militants -- stream across unofficial points up and down the border.

''The secret, illegal crossings will never close,'' said Alam Khan, 45, who was driving a jeep loaded with fertiliser into Afghanistan through an illegal crossing.

''We can just bribe the Pakistani and Afghan guards. We've been doing it for years,'' said Khan as he wiped dust from his face with his shawl.

REUTERS