Indo-Pak border to be sealed by Dec 2018: Rajnath

Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said that the India-Pakistan border would be sealed by December 2018. Chairing a meeting of the Chief Ministers or Home Ministers of Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujarat, and Jammu & Kashmir in Jaisalmer, he said that a time-bound action plan will be prepared for the purpose.

Inaugurating the meeting, Singh sought the active participation of the states to secure the international border with Pakistan by putting physical and non-physical barriers, said an official press release.

He asked the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Border Security Force, and the participating states for faster implementation of infrastructure projects, effective monitoring, intelligence sharing, and inter-agency cooperation in view of the prevailing security scenario in the country. He also invited the suggestions in this regard from the participants.

The MHA made a presentation in which the participants deliberated all the issues and gave their valuable suggestions.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje raised issues regarding police modernization, security in the hinterland, and the peculiar problems due to sparsely populated desert area with the shifting sand dunes. She suggested that an integrated check post be established at Munnabao.

Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal drew attention to the problems of farmers having land across the border and the problems created by the smuggling of arms and drugs from Pakistan.

Gujarat Minister of State for Home Affairs Pradeep Sinh B. Jadeja stated that in the marshy areas of the Rann of Kutch, where fencing is not possible, there is a need for improvement in the construction of roads and use of technology for surveillance.

Union MoS for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju also shared his views on the management of border situation.

It was resolved that the Central and state governments will work together to resolve all problems at the earliest for effectively protecting the border.

Singh said that the inputs of the participants have been very useful and the Centre will use these in the policy formulation.

Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, MHA Secretary (Border Management) Susheel Kumar, BSF Director General K.K. Sharma, the Chief Secretaries and Director Generals of Police of the states, and senior officers of the MHA, the BSF, and CPWD also attended the meeting.