Kathmandu, May 15

Sajha Party has said the open and unregulated border between Nepal and India is not in the interest of either of the neighbours.

“Though it has been looked at as a model of close relations between the two countries, the open and unregulated border does not serve the developmental aspirations of both the countries, in view of national security and implementation of social security programmes,” read a press release issued by the party today.

According to the party, there are numerous complications on national security due to open border such as cross-border theft, robbery and smuggling. It is an important duty of any sovereign nation to maintain record of how many of its citizens are overseas and how many foreigners are residing within its territory and for what purpose. Such information is lacking as the country tries to manage the COVID-19 crisis.

The Indian side, too, has repeatedly stated that the misuse of the open border has undermined its national security. “In this context, Sajha Party demands the Government of Nepal to open only specific border points between the two countries by maintaining proper documentation, and erect barbed-wire fences along rest of the border region without causing any difficulty to the people living in the vicinity,” read the release.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on May 16, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.