New Delhi, August 15, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Indian security agencies have stepped up vigilance along the Nepal border following intelligence inputs alleging that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is seeking to exploit communal and demographic fault lines in areas of Nepal bordering India, officials said.
The agencies are closely monitoring developments in Nepal, particularly the Terai region, after a communal clash reported in July raised concerns about the possibility of a broader pattern of unrest. Officials said the developments were significant from India’s security perspective because of the open border between the two countries.
An Intelligence Bureau official claimed that Nepal has previously been used as a transit route by Pakistan’s spy agency for the movement of terrorists into India. The official said agencies were now examining allegations of a more sustained effort aimed at influencing Nepal’s demographic and communal environment.
“Demographic change is occurring at a rapid pace in Nepal, and this is worrisome as incidents of communal violence are bound to go up,” the official claimed, while referring to protests by Hindu organisations over religious conversions.
Another official said several communal clashes involving Hindu and Muslim communities had been reported in the Terai over the past year. According to the official, security agencies are concerned that tensions could spill across the open border into India.
Officials also alleged a rise in activities they described as linked to Wahhabism, along with an increase in madrasas that they believe could contribute to radicalisation. They cited Nepalgunj as an area of particular concern and alleged that a guest house had been established there to accommodate members of Dawat-e-Islami (DeI), an Islamic missionary organisation that originated in Pakistan.
The officials claimed that these developments had contributed to the emergence of Islamist organisations and increased radicalisation, while alleging that the ISI had previously exploited demographic and communal fault lines in other regions.
The proximity of Nepalgunj and surrounding Terai areas to Uttar Pradesh has added to Indian security concerns. Officials specifically cited Bahraich district, where communal violence was reported in 2024 during a Durga idol immersion procession. The incident involved arson and led to the invocation of the National Security Act.
According to the officials, Indian agencies are particularly concerned about the possibility that prolonged communal tensions in Nepal could create conditions for terrorist movement across the open border.
They fear that any such network could potentially facilitate the movement of militants into India, with targets including Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the country.
The allegations cited by the officials could not be independently verified.
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