Pakistan terror groups LeT, JeM may use Nepal route to strike India

Thapa noted that terrorist incidents in India often reverberate into Nepal which threatens regional peace and stability. He also criticised Pakistan's continued support for terror outfits, calling it a major stumbling block for SAARC’s effectiveness and broader regional integration.

Stronger regional cooperation urged

The seminar placed a strong emphasis on the need for enhanced counter-terrorism collaboration across South Asia. As per the report, key recommendations included stricter measures to combat money laundering, improved intelligence sharing between nations, and coordinated border patrolling -- particularly along the India-Nepal frontier. The speakers also urged all regional stakeholders to shun double standards when it comes to tackling terrorism.

Operation Sindoor cited as example

India's recent Operation Sindoor, in which the armed forces targeted nine terror camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), was cited as a decisive and impactful response to the menace of cross-border terrorism. However, speakers warned that Nepal continues to remain vulnerable, citing past incidents like the IC-814 hijacking and the Pahalgam incident, where 26 civilians, including a Nepali national, lost their lives in a LeT-orchestrated attack.

Porous border a major concern

It should be noted here that Nepal and India share a 1,751-km-long open and largely porous border -- a factor that, while strengthening people-to-people ties, also poses a serious security risk. Terror operatives have previously exploited this route, often using fake Nepali documents to slip into Indian territory unnoticed. The 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight IC-814 remains a grim reminder of the loopholes that exist in aviation and border security. The attackers had boarded the flight in Kathmandu with concealed weapons, exposing major flaws in the security apparatus at Tribhuvan International Airport.