, Despite suffering some of the heaviest casualties among NATO forces in Afghanistan, Canada on Jan. 9 opposed a Pakistani proposal to lay landmines near the Afghan border, but supported fencing to stop Taliban fighters crossing back and forth.
Foreign Minister Peter MacKay said in Islamabad that Canada was unwilling to compromise its support for an international protocol to restrain the use of landmines.
He said a better solution lay with fencing, augmented with border patrols, aerial surveillance and increased use of technology.
“Fencing, I think, is part of that solution, particularly in high traffic areas, and there have been experiences with fencing that have been very effective,” MacKay told a joint news conference with his Pakistani counterpart.
A day earlier in Afghanistan, MacKay said he would speak “bluntly” to Pakistani leaders about the need to do more to stop Taliban crossing the border to fight Afghan and NATO forces.
But, there were no harsh words in public from MacKay, after his meetings with President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Kasuri. Instead, he talked about the need to find solutions together rather than casting blame.
“Nobody in the international community, in my view, would indicate with any degree of fairness that it
