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Pakistan blocks part of its Afghan border
Pakistan has sealed a section of its western border with Afghanistan to stop militants fleeing a U.S.-led offensive on the Afghan side from sneaking into the country, the military said on Tuesday.U.S. and Afghan government troops launched an air and ground assault, code named Operation Mountain Lion, last week to clear militants from the eastern province of Kunar, bordering Pakistan. Military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan said Pakistan had deployed troops in its tribal areas, opposite Afghanistan's Kunar and neighboring Nangarhar provinces, to stop militants infiltrating into Pakistan. "We do block certain routes whenever an operation is carried out on the other side of the border to prevent terrorists from crossing the border," Sultan said. "Yes, we have deployed certain forces ... in Bajaur and Mohmand because of the latest operation," he said of the two tribal areas opposite Kunar and Nangarhar. Some press reports suggested that troops had also been deployed in the mountainous Chitral and Dir districts. Posted by: Dan Darling 2006-04-19 |
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