ISLAMABAD, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Pakistan Army said on Saturday it had built 233 forts along the border with Afghanistan as part of its border fencing plan to stop cross-border movement of militants.

Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan have long been saying that militants in both countries cross the border for violence and Pakistan started the fencing project last year.

According to the army, the project will be completed by December 2019.

Pakistani army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said that work on the forts and fences continued on the 2,600-km-long Pakistan-Afghan border.

The spokesman said on Twitter that work on 233 of 843 forts and 802 of 1,200 km prioritized areas has been completed.

The project will "benefit peaceful people of Pakistan and Afghanistan while restricting terrorists," he wrote on Twitter.