Daily Times

Fences, it seems, don’t always build bridges. This is something that Pakistan already knows. Nevertheless, last year saw us begin constructing a security barrier along our 2,611-kilometre-long border with Afghanistan despite repeated objections from Kabul over the years. The project is expected to be completed by next year; bringing with it a not un-small price-tag of Rs 56 billion. Which may or may not suggest that China has footed the bill for now. Though our Foreign Minister is, of course, calling on Trump Town to pick up the tab.

Pakistan ought to tread carefully along this path. Meaning that in fencing the Af-Pak border we are effectively prioritising the recognition of the Durand Line above going after remnant militant safe-havens. This plan was first floated by the then President-General (rtd) Pervez Musharraf back in 2005, when he also offered to mine the shared border. And when this proposal was brought up year after year — the Afghans slammed it as impractical. Though they weren’t the only ones. Pundits on this side of the border pointed out that fencing the border was no substitute for going after the so-called Quetta Shura.

So what is different this time around? Conventional wisdom suggests that Pakistan is sick-and-tired of having been asked to do more, more, more to flush out militant networks from its soil. And that it has finally decided to do something about it; regardless of what anyone else might have to say about it. This likely explains why Khawaja Asif is calling on the Americans to cough up.  To be fair, he does have a point when he notes that the tab for the security barrier will end up being cheaper than this apparent war without end that is expected to cost Washington a cool $45 billion for this year alone.

Nevertheless, unconventional wisdom cautions against using this barrier to physically keep out the 2.5 million Afghan refugees that are scheduled to be repatriated, especially if the area is being mined. Indeed we would like clarification on the latter given the ongoing controversy regarding the question of landmines having been planted in South Waziristan. And then Pakistan had better be confident that once this vulnerable group has been forcibly expelled from within our borders — there is not a single cross-border attack launched across our western front from this. For far too long has the establishment vilified one particular community for most of the country’s ills. Thus post-construction will be a time for truth. The same may be said if India does indeed push ahead with plans to fence our entire shared border by the year’s end. Ditto when it comes to its forces building a ‘smart fence’ along the LoC.

But what we must remember is that fences not only keep out the baddies — they keep out families as well as trade. And can never be a real substitute for putting one’s own house in order.  *

Published in Daily Times, February 11^th 2018.