Pakistan Will Add 60,000 Troops to Patrol Afghan Border
- Military has fenced about 13 percent of the disputed border
- U.S. has accused Pakistan of allowing safe haven for militants
This article is for subscribers only.
Pakistan will add as many as 60,000 troops to boost its patrols along its disputed border with Afghanistan in an effort to curb the flow of insurgents passing between the two nations, according to military officials familiar with the matter.
Forty percent of the troops have already been recruited in the exercise, which is expected to take two years, the officials said, asking not to be identified so they could discuss sensitive troop movements. About 13 percent of a fence planned along the 1,456 mile-long disputed border has also been completed, they said. The armed force’s media department didn’t respond to a request for comment.