The porous border

The recent border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan have created tensions and hostility between the two countries. And the unflinching zeal of hawkish elements on both sides is widening the gulf to an unbridgeable level.

This is the direct outcome of Afghanistan’s unpragmatic approach and Pakistan’s inexplicable reluctance to address the complex issue of border management.

The Pak-Afghan border, commonly known as the Durand Line, is 2,450 kms and stretches over a long and tough terrain. It is a porous border with more than 200 crossing points out of which a few like Torkham, Chamman, Ghulam Khan and Angorada have minimal presence of law-enforcement personnel. Consequently, movement across this border is unmanaged and unsupervised.

It is pertinent to mention here my personal experience of how people cross the border without any restrictions. In the last days of the Karzai government, I had to fly from Islamabad to Kabul. My friends in Peshawar, Aqeel Yousafzai, a journalist, Asrar Atal, a renowned poet and Karan Khan, a Pashto singer, wanted to join me in Kabul.

Being celebrities in both countries, Khan and Atal had visited Kabul many times but without any legal documents. However, this time, I told them that if they wanted to join me, they had to come to Kabul on a proper visa. So they got a visa from the Afghan Consulate in Peshawar and came to Kabul through Torkham. In Kabul, we attended many gatherings with our Afghan friends, participated in different TV talk shows and visited the Pakistan embassy frequently without any difficulty.

To my surprise, the President House in Kabul refused to let my friends go with me to attend a meeting with the then president Karzai. I was informed by officials that my friends had no entry and exit stamps on their passports. My friends confirmed that and added that no one had bothered about their passports on the Torkham crossing point. Apparently, instead of checking their visas, officials on both sides had taken selfies with them and offered tea in hospitality.

This is the disappointing reality of the unbridled freedom that people on both sides of the border enjoy while crossing it. I have shown live footage on my TV show, Jirga, of how thousands of people cross the border freely on the Torkham and Chaman entry points on a daily basis. The majority of them, no doubt, are innocent and poor people who cross the border to either earn a livelihood, visit relatives or see a doctor.

At the same time, it cannot be denied that the attackers of the Bacha Khan University and Badaber Camp used this very route. Hence, this porous border is not only a source of smuggling but is also creating a law and order situation in both countries.

I have been talking about this issue from time to time for the last ten years, but no one ever bothered to look at it closely. With efforts from Hina Rabbani Khar and former ambassador to Kabul, Sadiq Khan, Kabul and Islamabad agreed on border management in the Chequers Summit held in February 2013 and facilitated by British Prime Minister David Cameron. It was a positive development in which the UK, the creator of the Durand Line, played the role of facilitator and guarantor. But unfortunately, the issue was again pushed into cold storage. And the government has failed to address it in the last three years.

Similarly, our ratings-oriented media failed to focus on this vital issue. Instead of a comprehensive, quality and timely debate, our media launched into a sudden hype and ended up spreading confusion. Border management has currently become a hot issue on our mainstream media.

The different interpretations given to the concept of border management by different people has led to more confusion instead of a workable solution. Some people consider border management to mean border sealing and fencing while others think it is a costly undertaking and will not materialise. Some others are worried that border management would bring to the fore the Durand Line issue.

Border management does not mean sealing or fencing the Pak-Afghan border. We have a border management regime with Iran and China, and those borders are not fenced or sealed. But they are properly managed and regularised. We have not constructed a wall on the border with these two countries, but still no one dares cross these borders illegally without proper legal documents. People know that illegal entry will land them behind bars.

Border management has different mechanisms and neighbouring countries can agree to them according to their own needs and peculiar conditions. For instance, we have a different border management mechanism with China, Iran and India. Similarly, the US has a different border system with Mexico and Canada.

Border management with Afghanistan does not mean putting up a Berlin Wall or curbing trade activities or stopping people’s movement. It means a mechanism to manage, regularise and facilitate people’s movement, enhance legal trade and curb the free movement of extremist elements who are playing havoc with the peace and stability of both the countries.

The writer works for Geo TV.

Email: saleem.safi@janggroup.com.pk