(3 Aug 2021)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Torkham, Pakistan-Afghanistan border - 3 August 2021
1. Pakistani military troops patrol along Pakistan-Afghanistan border fence at Big Ben hilltop post at Khyber district
2. Tilt-up from weapons to soldiers' faces
3. Pan left from soldier on patrol
4. Signboard hanging on fence reading (Urdu and Pashto) "Beware! Upon entrance, we will shoot"
5. Pan from razor wire to soldier patrol along with fence
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Col. Ahmed Fareed Kiyani, Pakistan military area commander:
"Fencible terrain which was available to us was 2,280km, of the total border length of 2,640km. 90% of it is completed and the rest will be completed by end of this summer, because the summer is the window that is available. Otherwise the weather gets quite cold, and fencing or any kind of construction work is not possible."
7 Wide of trucks at Afghan side
8. Surveillance camera at top
9. Pan right across terrain
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Col. Rizwan Ullah Nazir, Pakistan military commander, paramilitary troops:
"The border at the moment is only restricted to notified border terminals, and there we have complete FIA (Federal Investigation Agency), NADRA (National Database & Registration Authority), WMS (Warehouse Management System) and face recognition system, where we can track each and every individual moving into Pakistan. The recent incidents are by some sleeper cells or some miscreant elements who were mixed up with the society, but I can assure you there is no movement of terrorists or miscreants across the border."
11. Truck parked on Afghan side of border, while soldiers stand alert
12. Soldiers stand alert on Pakistani side
13. Mid of border line, with truck parked on Afghan side
14. Afghan soldier and Afghan citizens on Afghan side
15. Pan from Pakistan Torkham gate to fence
STORYLINE:
Pakistan's military on Tuesday said it had completed 90 percent of the fencing along the border with Afghanistan.
Col. Rizwan Nazir told a group of foreign journalists at the key Torkham border crossing that the remaining 10 percent of the fencing at the western border will completed this year, in order to prevent any cross-border militant attack from either side.
The announcement came amid increasing violence in Afghanistan where the Taliban has stepped up attacks ahead of a complete pullout of American troops.
Pakistan started building the fence along the 2,611-kilometer (1,622-mile) border with Afghanistan in 2017 after militants repeatedly launched cross-border attacks on Pakistani posts.
The fencing consists of two sets of chain-link fences, separated by a 2-meter (6.5 ft) space that has been filled with concertina wire coils.
The double fence is about 4 meters (13 ft) high. The military has installed surveillance cameras to check any movement along the border.
However, Afghanistan has never recognized the porous border, which is known as the Durand Line.
It runs through the Pashtun heartland, diluting the power of Afghanistan's largest ethnic group.
Pakistan and Afghanistan often accuse each other of turning a blind eye to Islamic militants operating along the frontier.
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