The decision was taken following China´s insistence that the government deploy 10,000 APF personnel on the Nepal-Tibet border during the Lhasa meeting in September participated by high-ranking APF officers. China had also assured necessary assistance to make the new arrangements. [break]
The decision is not even going to be discussed in its ever largest meeting about border security on Wednesday, sources said. The meeting entitled "Special Workshop on Border Security" at the APF headquarters will only table agendas related to the southern border.
Against the backdrop of frequent anti-China activities by Tibetans in Kathmandu, the Chinese government has been pushing to tighten security on the northern border.
Earlier, the government had also decided to add 7,000 personnel to the APF and approved recruitment of 2,700. Meanwhile, APF had conducted a feasibility study for deployment of APF personnel in Rasuwa and Mustang in mid October, which concluded that guarding the northern border perched on difficult terrain, would be an arduous undertaking.
The only development involving the decision, however, is that the government is going to deploy an APF troop having 237 personnel in Sindhupalchwok after two months. APF has also proposed to install Border Observation Posts (BOP) in the border areas.
"But the current modalities for the deployment of APF personnel is not compatible with the challenges of border security," a high-ranking APF official told Republica.
"Deployment on the northern border is being worked out at the government level. We are working closely with the government toward this end," said Kosh Raj Want, Additional Inspector General (AIG) of APF. He, however, said that there would be no agenda on northern border in the workshop.
Through the workshop, APF is chiefly seeking for legal authorization in many issues in connection with its mandate to ensure border security. Currently, APF is deployed in 18 districts on the southern border.
"We still lack legal back-up for carrying out our mandates," Want added. According to him, political parties, besides the government and non-government stakeholders, are also invited in the discussions to forge consensus on border security.
"Our focus will be on border regulations chiefly related to custom management and crime control," he said.
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