KATHMANDU, Aug 28: Nepali authorities have pushed back against Indian intelligence claims and media reports suggesting that operatives from the Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed infiltrated Bihar through Nepal.
The Bihar Police on Wednesday issued a statewide high alert based on intelligence inputs that three members of Jaish-e-Mohammed, which India has declared a terrorist group, had crossed into Bihar via the Nepal border. Nepal and India share an open border, which sometimes allows even criminal elements to cross freely.
Information obtained by Republica shows that all three Pakistani nationals who entered Nepal have already left the country on different dates. Hasnain Ali, 21, from Rawalpindi, and Adil Hussain, 21, from Umerkot, entered Nepal from Dubai on August 8 and departed on August 15. Similarly, Mohammad Usman, 22, from Bahawalpur, Pakistan, who also entered Nepal from Dubai on August 10, left the country on August 24. All three departed for Malaysia. It is noteworthy that Nepal and Pakistan do not share direct air connectivity.
A high-level source at the Department of Immigration (DoI) told Republica that the individuals mentioned in Indian media reports entered Nepal via air around two weeks ago but all left for Malaysia about a week ago.
Security sources told Republica that the Nepal Police and the Department of Investigation are currently trying to determine whom the three men met in Nepal, who received them, where they stayed, and whether they were indeed affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Meanwhile, Indian media has reported that the alert has triggered an extensive security operation across Bihar’s border districts. Authorities have circulated passport details and released sketches of the suspects. Police stations along the open Nepal-India border have been instructed to maintain strict surveillance, monitor ground activities, and respond swiftly to any suspicious movements.