Nepal and India have agreed to set up help desks at key border posts during the festive season to ease the process of Nepali migrant workers arriving from India.

 

This move follows complaints by some Nepalis alleging harassment and intimidation by Indian security forces while returning from India.Nepali authorities had raised this issue with India earlier.

 

Senior security officials from Armed Police Force (APF), Nepal, and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), India, took the decision to establish help desks at border posts at a meeting on Friday.

 

APF Inspector General Shailendra Khanal led the Nepali delegation that comprised officials from APF, Foreign and Home Ministries. SSB Director General Rajni Kant Mishra led the Indian panel that comprised officials from SSB, India’s Foreign Affairs and Home Ministries.

 

Both sides agreed to hold talks regularly at all levels, from top leaders to Border Observation Post. The officials agreed to patrol the border jointly to monitor cross border crimes such as human and drugs trafficking, gold smuggling, other economic crimes and training respective personnel on people-friendly behaviour.

 

APF and SSB will establish Help Desks at major border posts, Nepal Embassy in New Delhi said in a statement. Officials discussed various security issues and agreed to take enhance co-ordination and co-operation between the two border security forces, the statement added.