Kabul and Islamabad engage in blame game over border fencing, says report

"On the one hand, the Afghan government has blamed Pakistan for supporting Taliban and other militants from across the border; on the other, Pakistan has alleged that major terror outfits, especially Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), have been operating from Afghan territory– specifically in the aftermath of the military operation by Pakistan Army in 2014 in along the border region," wrote journalist Sulman Ali in his opinion piece published in Pakistan Today.

He further said: "The area has another serious issue linked to it, which is the admitting it as a border of both countries, especially on the part of Kabul."

" The mutual border was set by British in 1893, declaring it the Durand Line. After Pakistan’s independence in 1947, and end of British rule in sub-continent, the Afghan government has claimed that the British-set border is now null-and-void, and it is Afghanistan’s territory. Meanwhile, Islamabad has maintained it as the border between two states," he wrote.

Zahid Shinwari, a former chairman of the chamber of commerce for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was quoted as saying by the newspaper that it is a huge change, because earlier people on both sides used to move freely.

“We actually didn’t consider the Afghanistan side as some other country, like traveling to Europe or the Arab countries," Shinwari said.

Michael Kugelman, senior Research Associate at Stimson Centre believes that the fencing will be never completed, the newspaper reported.