'Some Foreigners Entered Myanmar Via Mizoram, Gave Military Training In Chin Hills': Chief Minister Lalduhoma

Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma on Monday said his government is not opposing the Centre's decision to reimpose Protected Area Permit (PAP) in the state and regulate movement across the India-Myanmar border, amid security concerns.

He said Mizoram is being secretly used as a transit route by foreigners travelling to Myanmar, which has become a grave concern for the Centre.

During question hour in the state assembly, Lalduhoma said nearly 2,000 foreigners visited Mizoram between June and December last year, and many of them did not come as tourists and left the state unnoticed.

He alleged some foreigners crossed the Indo-Myanmar border and entered Chin Hills in the neighbouring country to give military training there.

"In the present geopolitics, the situation in our neighbouring country is being closely viewed by different countries, including China and the US. As this is the case, the situation of Mizoram being used by foreigners as a transit route has become a grave concern for the Centre, which prompted the reimposition of the Protected Area Permit in the state," the chief minister told the assembly.

He said Protected Area Permit has been reimposed in other states, which could potentially be used as transit routes by foreigners travelling to Myanmar.

Although the Mizoram government had initially opposed the decision, it later understood the essentiality of the permit as viewed by the Centre, he said.

The whole of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram, and parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand are defined as protected areas.

In 2011, the Centre relaxed the PAP from Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram to boost tourism and exempted all foreigners except Afghanistani, Pakistani and Chinese from the PAP.

This relaxation was later extended for five years at a time, with the latest order issued in December 2022 and valid until December 2027.

However, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) recently reimposed the PAP in Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland to regulate the movement of foreigners, amid growing security concerns arising out of influx from neighbouring countries.

The MHA communicated to the chief secretaries of three northeastern states - Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland - notifying them of the decision to reinstate the Protected Area Regime (PAR) or PAP thereby lifting the relaxation after 13 years.

Lalduhoma said the state government felt the necessity of restricting movement across the India-Myanmar border and agreed with the Centre in the introduction of a new protocol to regulate cross-border movement under the Free Movement Regime (FMR).

On December 24 last year, the MHA announced a new protocol that reduced the FMR range from 16 km to 10 km.

Under the new guidelines, individuals crossing the border from India to Myanmar and vice versa will be given a border pass, which is valid for seven days. The border pass will be issued to those who live within a 10 km radius on either side of the border on the production of credentials, confirming their residence within the territorial limit.

Although Union Home Minister Amit Shah previously announced the FMR would be scrapped, an official notification has yet to be issued.

Lalduhoma said unrestricted movement under the FMR has certain disadvantages and brought many social evils in the state like rampant smuggling of drugs, arms and other crimes, including murder, which have become grave concern for the state.

Although the state government was in favour of free movement between ethnic Mizos of the two countries, it felt the necessity of regulating movement across the India-Myanmar border when the Centre did so, he said.