India orders demolition drive along border as Pakistan tensions simmer

India’s interior minister has ordered the demolition of buildings along the border with Pakistan, as well as actions to combat a variety of “trans-border crimes”.

Home Minister Amit Shah announced on Wednesday that buildings deemed “illegal” would be destroyed. In a statement, he explained that means that buildings within 15km (nine miles) of the border will be torn down.

The order builds on the deepened tension between the South Asian neighbours. Relations hit new lows last year when India accused Pakistan of being behind a deadly attack in Kashmir, setting off a four-day war that killed more than 70 people, their worst conflict in decades.

“Amit Shah stressed the need for strict enforcement of a zero-tolerance policy against illegal constructions, particularly within 0-15 km of the international border,” the Ministry of Home Affairs statement read. “He directed the concerned authorities to demolish all such unauthorised constructions.”

Shah also urged officials to boost efforts “to effectively address infiltration, narcotics smuggling, encroachment, terror financing, and other trans-border crimes”, according to the statement.

New Delhi has accused Islamabad of aiding narcotics and weapons smuggling into India, and has spent heavily on reinforcing its highly patrolled borders.

Shah is known for his hardline stance on national security, irregular migration and transnational crimes. He unveiled the order while in the western state of Rajasthan, which borders Pakistan.

India’s frontier with Pakistan, including the de facto border through the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir, stretches for 3,300km (2,050 miles).

India and Pakistan accuse each other of backing proxy forces, and each side fiercely rejects the claims of the other.

The brief war broke out last year after an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir killed 26 men, mostly Hindu tourists.

India accused Pakistan of backing the attack – a charge Islamabad denied – triggering tit-for-tat diplomatic measures and air strikes, drone swarms and heavy mortar fire.