Pakistan on Monday defended construction of security posts along its border with Afghanistan after Afghan officials reported fresh clashes between the border troops of the two countries.

Pakistan Foreign Ministry said that the posts on Pakistan- Afghanistan border are serving the useful and mutually beneficial purpose of better border management, which is crucial for interdicting cross-border undesirable activity.

Officials of Afghanistan said Pakistani forces have built posts on its side of the border and President Hamid Karzai said on Saturday that he had instructed his forces to destroy Pakistani constructions on Afghan soil.

Last week one Afghan soldier was killed and two Pakistani border troops were injured in clashes that heightened tension between the uneasy neighbors.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry reaffirmed the need to use bilateral channels, including military- to-military contacts to resolve the issues relating to posts.

"In several high level interactions in recent past, the leadership of Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed on the imperatives of a mechanism for an effective border management for the mutual benefit of the two countries," he said in a statement.

On President Karzai's remarks regarding Pakistani posts on the border, the spokesperson recalled that Pakistani post in Gursal had come under attack from Afghan forces and there had been several threatening and provocative statements made by Afghan leadership in this regard.

Responding to a query regarding President Karzai's remarks that his country will never recognize Duran Line, which divides the two countries, the Pakistani spokesperson said that Durand-line is a settled issue.

"Opening discussions on this issue is a distraction from the more pressing issues requiring the priority attention and cooperation of Pakistan and Afghanistan," he said. Endi

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