Border Outpost Construction project inaugurated

PESHAWAR: A meeting was held at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Frontier Corps (FC) Brig Muhammad Yousaf Majoka and INL Director Katie Stana to mark the inauguration of Border Outpost Construction Project.

The DIG FC KP expressed gratitude to INL’s assistance. He said:  “The US Embassy’s INL has stood with FC for more than a decade, helping to reduce civilian and law enforcement casualties, cross-border infiltrations, smuggling of narcotics, kidnapping for ransom and other crimes on the western border of Pakistan”.   

The inauguration celebrated the completion of three year $10 million project that began in 2014. It included the construction of five company headquarters, 33 border outposts and renovation of 54 security posts.

Up to 54 border outposts were constructed and 30 facilities renovated at a cost of $ 5.5 m during the previous phases. At the inauguration ceremony, Stana recognised the important role the FC plays in safeguarding Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan. The official noted that the Frontier Corps is Pakistan’s first line of defense in border security, and we are proud to support its mission”.

She highlighted the INL funded border outposts in the Chitral district of the KP, Mohmand and Bajaur agencies of Federally Administered Tribal Areas, which provided critical protection during several attacks from 2014-2016 from across the border, helping to protect the lives of FC personnel engaged in countering narcotics and preventing cross border infiltration.

The INL will provide this year over $5 m in equipment, including bulletproof vests, helmets and bomb protection suits to the FC to help improve personnel safety to the troops and extend the reach of the FC in Fata and along the Pak-Afghan border.