Fence is the best defence

Insulation from the turmoil-laden Afghanistan is the best option for Pakistan. Afghan War III must be avoided at all costs to save what remains of the Republic.

Building an impregnable fence is a viable option. While the cross-border tensions are rising there is no mention of the fence, which was completed a while ago to regulate human movement across the Durand Line.

Pakistan was trapped into the Afghan War I in the decade of the seventies. In 1971 Jinnah’s Pakistan was fragmented with the emergence of Bangladesh, while in 1979 what remained was used as a fodder to take on the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.

The elected government of Bhutto was toppled in July 1977, followed by his execution, paving the way for the Martial Law-led un-popular regime, which had to rely on Western support to remain in power.

Camps were established to train Mujahideen to fight the Soviet troops. They were classified as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

While the country was still suffering from the after-effects of Afghan War I, a second conflict was thrust upon us. After the 9/11 attacks in New York (September 11, 2001) Pakistan was asked to join the band-wagon to get rid of TTP that had been created in-house to fight the Soviet Union the non-believers.

Afghan War II brought the wrath of TTP. While the Afghan faction (Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan) took on the foreign invaders, TTP decided to go after their creators, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, who now wanted to disarm/dislodge them to please their foreign masters.

After fighting others’ war, it was decided to insulate from the prevailing turmoil across the Northern borders by building a fence across the 1600-mile Durand Line. At a cost of $520 million, the structure had to be completed by December 2023.

With the fence in place and effective surveillance it was expected that the trans-border intrusions would come to an end.

Pakistan has been blaming the regime in Kabul for failing to control the miscreants in their area which may be true, but the big question is: Where is the fence? If it has been damaged, then who is responsible for its up-keep and restoration/surveillance? The issue has been raised by our permanent representative in the UN, but no debate has taken place in our own parliament. Why are the elected representatives silent on this important security lapse?

On March 11, 2025, Jaffer Express was hijacked in the Dhadar, Bolan area of Balochistan. The incident clearly shows lack of state writ. The law-and-order situation is not satisfactory in two provinces (KPK, Balochistan) while Sindh is crying foul over water distribution.

All is not well in the federation. It seems the people and state are standing face to face. Serious course correction is needed before it is too late. There is uneasy calm in Azad Jummu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). Punjab is under the cohesive control of the infamous Police Force with widespread public resentment.

Perhaps Afghanistan is the biggest foreign policy debacle of Pakistan. Nothing seems to have worked thus far. In Afghan War l we sided with the West against the Soviets, in War II we went with the West to get rid of the ruling Taliban whom we had supported/created from scratch.

Now we are being asked to retrieve the sophisticated arms left behind by the fleeing occupying forces of the West. Nations must learn from history to repeat, the same mistakes again and again.

Most storms in the Indian Sub-continent came from the North. Even the mighty British Empire felt helpless in controlling the events in turmoil-ridden region of Afghanistan, they decided to draw the Durand Line beyond which they had no role; a policy of live and let live was adopted.

The infamous Lawrence of Arabia operating from Nedous Hotel, Lahore, after failing to destabilise the government in Kabul had to be relocated to organize an Arab uprising against the Ottoman Empire, which created several kingdoms and Sheikhdoms in the Middle East that we see today.

Afghan War III is not an option. Fence is the best defence, which must be fortified and watched. No more dirty wars for others. Let the Afghans put their own house in order with no outside interference. The mighty Soviet Union was humiliated here and so were the NATO forces that had to leave in a rush leaving their sophisticated armaments behind which they now want to retrieve. Afghanistan is a graveyard of mighty empires where weak regimes of Pakistan do not stand a chance to succeed. History is not on our side. There is a famous saying; ‘What cannot be cured must be endured’.

The unstable reality called Afghanistan must be endured by building and manning the fence that was built for this purpose at an astronomical cost.

An audit of the fence is called for. I understand it has been breached at several places and needs to be immediately restored for our protection from the international battle ground of the empires of the world. This is where the mighty and powerful have been forced to bite the dust not once but several times.

The Chinese were smart as they built the Great Wall of China around 3rd century BC to fortify their Northern borders. In the 21st century two major fences were erected, one across the Line of Control in Kashmir and the other on the Durand Line.

While the two earlier ones have been effective the third calls for attention to contain the emerging storms from the North. Let us put our own house in order and let the Afghans worry about theirs.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025