Thursday, January 11, 2007

FEATURE-Pakistani fence plan opposed on invisible Afghan border

"How can we allow fencing and mining between us. We will never accept this. Not at any cost," said Dost Mohammad, a bearded, turbaned villager from Kulli Musa. -- The border snakes 2,500 km (1,500 miles) through rocky mountains and across deserts and is a major front line in the U.S.-led war on terrorism. -- The fiercely independent Pashtun tribes have never paid much heed to the boundary dividing their lands. -- "Half of our village mosque is in Pakistan and the other half in Afghanistan," said Mohammad, fingering a string of prayer beads as he spoke. -- His brother's home is just across the border dividing the collection of mud-walled houses lying partly in Pakistan's Baluchistan province and partly in Afghanistan's Kandahar province. -- Part of the problem is that Afghanistan does not recognise the colonial-era border, and argues that fortifying it would split Pashtun communities spread across both sides. -- "Government people know better about fencing the border but may Allah damn those who lay mines. -- They'll kill our youngsters," said Hajania, 45, a villager who regularly drives her donkey cart across the border. -- "We're poor people, we have no hostility with anyone." -- Villager Hayat Khan, 50, said: "Pashtun tribes have already been destroyed by the bombing and fighting. Now they want to destroy us further."

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