Pakistan and Afghanistan are going to try and resolve their border dispute with the aid of Google Maps, among other measures.
According to an AFP report, survey officials from both countries will use GPS and Google Maps along with other tools to settle the long-standing border issue. Even though Afghanistan's official maps acknowledge Pakistan's 2,400 kilometre border inheritance post-1947, many residents on the ground do not seem to agree.
Recently, a total of eight civilians were killed on both sides of the border after a fight ensued when a Pakistani survey team visited a border village. Soldiers from the Pakistani Army were accompanying the team when the incident occurred last Friday.
"After negotiations, both sides have agreed that a geological survey should be conducted," Abdul Razeq, the police chief of Afghanistan's Kandahar province, told AFP. "Technical teams of both countries will use GPS and Google Maps as well as other means to get the answer."
Pakistan had tried trenching and fencing the border last year but had met with resistance from the Afghans. Google Maps, meanwhile, is familiar with border related problems. In 2010, it had shown a piece of land that belonged to Costa Rica as lying in Nicaragua, which led to a big dispute.