Pakistan To Remove Border Installations After Afghan Objections

http://www.rferl.org/

A senior Afghan military official says Pakistan has promised to remove controversial installations along the disputed border line between the two countries. Afzal Aman, the Afghan National Army's chief of military operations, said Pakistan would remove the structures on April 16. Aman told RFE/RL that the agreement was reached during a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart in Islamabad on April 15. One day earlier, Afghan President Hamid Karzai had reportedly instructed his top security officials to take "immediate action" regarding the removal of a border gate and checkpoint recently installed by Pakistan along the British-drawn Durand Line.An Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman had suggested that "all options" were open in Kabul to ensure the installations were removed. Pakistan and the United States view the Durand Line, created in the 19th century, as an international border. Kabul, however, has consistently refused to recognize the Durand Line, a boundary that cuts through the ethnic Pashtun heartland.