Centre decides to scrap India-Myanmar Free Movement Regime

NEW DELHI: The Union Home Minister on Thursday announced that the Centre has decided to completely scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR) along the borders with Myanmar to ensure the country’s security and also the demography of northeastern states.

Shah in a social media post on ‘X’ said that as the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is currently in the process of scrapping it, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has recommended the immediate suspension of FMR.

The FMR is a regime agreed between India and Myanmar in 2028 to allow their respective citizens living near the borders to venture 16 km into each other’s territory without any documents as part of Act East Policy of the Modi government.

“It is Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji’s resolve to secure our borders. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided that the Free Movement Regime (FMR) between India and Myanmar be scrapped to ensure the internal security of the country and to maintain the demographic structure of India’s North Eastern States bordering Myanmar,” Shah wrote on hios ‘X’ post.

Incidentally, the announcement has been made two days after the government took the decision to fence the entire 1,643-km-long India-Myanmar borders, which pass through Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.

Fencing along the borders has been a persistent demand of the Imphal valley-based Meitei groups, which have been alleging that tribal militants often enter into India through the porous border. The Meitei groups also allege that narcotics are being smuggled into India taking advantage of the unfenced international border.

Shah had on Tuesday said besides constructing a fence along the entire Indo-Myanmar border, a patrol track along the border will also be paved to facilitate better surveillance. Furthermore, two pilot projects of fencing through a hybrid surveillance system are under execution, he had added.