Pakistan, Afghanistan fail to reach border deal

Officials from Pakistan and Afghanistan have reportedly failed to reach an agreement on how to manage the porous border between the two countries.

A Monday statement from the Afghan Foreign Ministry said that Kabul is still opposed to Pakistan’s construction of checkpoints along the disputed boundary, adding that the move violates Afghanistan’s territorial rights.

Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai, who led the Afghan delegation to the talks in Pakistan, raised in the negotiations what he called “various violations” by Islamabad, including setting up checkpoints in Afghan territory.

The statement said Karzai also “strongly protested against Pakistan's ongoing unprovoked artillery shelling of Afghan villages.”

Clashes erupted earlier in the week along the border after Pakistan started building a barrier at the crossing in a bid to stop the movement of Afghan militants into Pakistani territory.

SS