News Desk |
Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor on Sunday announced that work on the approximately 900-kilometer fence along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border had been completed.
Briefing journalists and anchorpersons in a border village in North Waziristan tribal district, DG ISPR Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said work on about 1,200km chunk, which is the most sensitive portion out of the total 2,600km border with the war-torn country, had commenced last year.
The ISPR chief said that about 1,200km of the total 2,600km border with Afghanistan lies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the rest in Baluchistan.
Giving a break-up, the ISPR chief said that about 1,200km of the total 2,600km border with Afghanistan lies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the rest in Baluchistan. He further added that the full project is expected to be completed next year (2020) which would cost about Rs.7 billion.
He said besides fencing, the project also includes gadgets and surveillance equipment to keep a strict vigil on illicit movement from across the border. The fence has amply helped to check the movement of terrorists from across the border and it would further assist after completion of the project.
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He said 95% work of resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) has already been accomplished. Talking about the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), he explained that most of the movement’s demands have already been met, while the rest, if any, could be sorted out through a dialogue process.
Interacting with people, the DG said that steps are being taken to sort out the genuine demands of PTM, besides promptly undertaking work on development schemes. About the longstanding demand of the local people, he said mobile phone service in the area would be launched in March this year to make communication easy.