Pakistan Says Erected First Part Of Afghan Border Fence

Pakistan is fencing part of the border to prevent militants from crossing (epa) May 10, 2007 -- Pakistan says it has erected what it calls the first section of a security fence on the Afghan border.

Military spokesperson Major General Waheed Arshad said 20 kilometers of fencing in North Waziristan's Lwara Mundi area had been completed.

Islamabad has said it plans to erect a fence along 35 kilometers of its porous 2,500 kilometer border to prevent Taliban militants from crossing between the two countries.

In April, Afghan and Pakistani troops clashed in a border area when Afghan troops tore down part of the fence being erected there.

Afghanistan, which has never recognized the border, opposes the fence.

(AFP)