India Orders Demolition of Illegal Structures Near Pakistan Border Amid Escalating Tensions
India's top interior official has ordered the demolition of all unauthorized buildings within 15 kilometers of the border with Pakistan, signaling a further hardening of security policy as tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors continue to simmer.
Home Minister Amit Shah, speaking from the western state of Rajasthan, directed local authorities on Wednesday to tear down what he described as "illegal constructions" near the frontier. The directive covers a stretch of land that runs along India’s 3,300-kilometer (2,050-mile) border with Pakistan, including the de facto boundary through the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.
In a statement released by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Shah stressed the need for “strict enforcement of a zero-tolerance policy” and called for the removal of all structures that lack official approval. He also urged officials to step up surveillance and enforcement actions against “infiltration, narcotics smuggling, encroachment, terror financing, and other trans-border crimes.”
The order comes at a time when relations between India and Pakistan are at their lowest point in decades. Last year, a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir—which killed 26 people, mostly Hindu tourists—triggered a four-day military confrontation between the two sides, the most intense since their last full-scale war in 1971. India accused Pakistan of backing the attackers, a charge Islamabad denied. The incident led to tit-for-tat diplomatic measures, cross-border air strikes, drone swarms and heavy mortar fire that claimed over 70 lives on both sides.
New Delhi has long accused Islamabad of facilitating the flow of narcotics and illegal weapons into Indian territory. In response, India has invested heavily in reinforcing its border infrastructure, including fencing, surveillance systems and patrols. Shah, a hardliner on national security and irregular migration, has made border control a top priority since taking office.
Analysts say the demolition drive is part of a broader strategy to eliminate potential hideouts for militants and smugglers, but it also risks inflaming local grievances in border communities. Many residents in Rajasthan and Punjab have built homes near the frontier without formal land titles, a legacy of weak enforcement and political patronage over decades.
India and Pakistan each accuse the other of sponsoring proxy forces, and both governments routinely dismiss those allegations. The fragile line of control remains one of the world’s most heavily militarized borders, with frequent ceasefire violations and exchanges of fire.