India’s Border Security Forces (BSF) have imposed a curfew in the border areas with Bangladesh amidst escalating political turmoil in Dhaka, where Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has fled the capital and sought political asylum in New Delhi.
According to Indian media reports, the BSF has recommended a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. in all areas within 200 meters of the Bangladeshi border in Meghalaya.
India is grappling with a significant diplomatic setback as student-led protests in Bangladesh have led to the collapse of Sheikh Hasina Wajid’s government, a key ally of New Delhi.
There are 915.35 kilometers of unfenced land along the Bangladesh border. Five Indian states share a 4,096-kilometer-long border with Bangladesh.
The BSF is on high alert, and tensions are particularly high near the borders with Bangladesh and in the eastern state of West Bengal.
The Indian government has issued strict orders that no one should be allowed entry into the country without proper documentation and permission.
At the Petrapole Land Port on the border, the flow of goods has been halted, leaving hundreds of Indian trucks stranded in Bangladesh. Additionally, a night curfew has been enforced along the border in Meghalaya.
Since mid-July, railway services between Bangladesh and India have also been indefinitely suspended.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.
