India plans to seal border with Pakistan by 2018
- By Web Desk -
- Mar 27, 2017
NEW DELHI: India is planning to seal the international borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh “as soon as possible” to deal with the inflow of refugees and menace of terrorism as a whole, said the Indian Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
“… this could be India’s major step against terrorism and the problem of refugees,” Singh said while addressing the passing out parade of the Border Security Force Assistant Commandants at the BSF Academy in Madhya Pradesh.
Centre has chalked a new roadmap to strengthen our border security. We plan to seal the international borders with Bangladesh & Pakistan: HM
— HMO India (@HMOIndia) March 25, 2017
The home minister assured that the border with Pakistan would be sealed by 2018, reported the Times of India. The decision has been taken in the wake of an increase in infiltration attempts, Singh said.
“The project will be periodically monitored by the Home Secretary at the Central level, the BSF from the security forces’ perspective and the Chief Secretaries at the state-level,” Singh said, adding that the government would apply technological solutions for sealing the border in difficult terrains.
Read: India plans patrol-free, multi-layer smart fence along Pakistan, Bangladesh borders
Lauding the BSF personnel, the home minister stated that the force has changed the rules of engagement at international borders which have made it a known entity in the neighbouring countries.
“The BSF has changed rules of engagement at international borders. Now, the BSF is a known entity even in neighbouring countries,” Singh said.
In December last year, India announced that it would have a patrol-free, multi-layered smart fence along its borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh by the end of 2017.
Director General of Border Security Force (BSF) KK Sharma said the force was working to implement a Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) where the security of the two sensitive and difficult terrain borders would shift from the regular troops patrolling system to a quick reaction team pattern where guards strike once they notice a blip of infiltration on their surveillance radars.