ISLAMABAD: Defence authorities Thursday informed a joint sitting of the Senate Standing Committees on Defence and Foreign Affairs that 72 wings of the Frontier Corps FC were being raised for effective management at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Briefing the meeting, Defence acting Secretary Rear Admiral Mukhtar Khan said that Pakistan was making maximum efforts to secure its areas along the border. In addition to other measures, he said, 72 FC wings were being raised to stop illegal entries from all the crossing points. Currently, he said, reinforcement was being carried out at five border crossing points – four at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border areas including Chaman, Torkham, Angur Ada and Ghulam Khan – and one at Wagah border. “For the purpose, a contract was being reached with the World Bank, whose details might be shared in the next sitting,” said Khan. Answering a question, he said, Pakistan was fully aware of its defence needs and looking into all options to acquire sophisticated fighter jets for its forces. Senator Farhatullah Babar said there were around 240 crossing points at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, ranging over thousands of kilometres “but we are improving the management at only four points, and that too unilaterally”. Referring to the killing of Taliban leader Mullah Mansour, Babar said there should be no room for such militants in Pakistan, who were involved in carrying out subversive activities to destabilise the country. Answering a query of a committee member, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry said that around 50,000 to 60,000 people daily cross the Pak-Afghan border from different points. Presently, he said, border management was being improved at the four crossing points including Chaman, Torkham, Angur Ada and Ghulam Khan, which would help streamline 70 to 80 percent movement taking place all along the border. Among others, Lieutenant General (r) Abdul Qayyum, Lieutenant General (r) Salahuddin Tirmizi, Brigadier (r) John Kenneth Williams, Colonel (r) Syed Tahir Hussain Mashhadi, Haji Momin Khan Afridi, Sehar Kamran, Karim Ahmed Khawaja, Sassui Palijo and senior officials of the Defence and the Foreign Affairs ministries attended the meeting.
