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Pakistan Deploys Thousands of Troops Along Borders
By Aamir Latif, IslamOnline Correspondent
ISLAMABAD, Dec. 10 (IslamOnline) - Pakistan deployed thousands of paramilitary troops along its border to prevent fleeing Taliban and their supporters belonging to different countries, including Pakistan, from entering the country, authorities said Monday.
A decision was taken Sunday after Pakistani officials had "successful" talks with Afghan tribal elders in the semiautonomous region in North West Frontier Province (NWFP). Hundreds of Arabs, Pakistanis and others loyal to Saudi exile Osama bin Laden and the Taliban, are believed holed up around Tora Bora, near Jalalabad, just across the border.
Pakistani helicopters flew low surveillance flights over the area as soldiers stopped vehicles, checked the passenger documents and searched luggage.
It is notably the first time that federal forces have received permission from tribal elders to enter the area.
Pakistan, which shares a 1,344-mile border with Afghanistan, is a key ally of the United States in its "war against terrorism" and has tightened security at its frontier with its war-torn neighbor in an attempt to cut escape routes for pro-Taliban foreigners and Pakistanis.
Security forces on Sunday also arrested some 24 Arabs and two Turkish nationals attempting to trickle into Pakistan at the Chaman border. The Arabs come from Yemen, Sudan, Egypt, Libya and Tanzania. Security officials claim the arrested men have links with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
"Security has been particularly tight in the region near Tora Bora," added a Pakistan army spokesman.
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