Earlier in the day, the Cabinet decided to ask President Andrzej Duda to prolong the special measures, which were introduced in the border areas on September 3 for a month, the state PAP news agency reported.
Government spokesman Piotr Müller told reporters the situation on the border remained “very difficult" due to “a hybrid war” being waged by the regime of Belarus' strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko.
After hosting a late-afternoon meeting with top security officials, Duda told a news conference that the 60-day extension seemed "justified at this moment in time."
“Sadly the pressure on the frontier is mounting, with a record 354 illegal attempts to cross the border today alone,” Duda said after conferring with officials including Interior Minister Mariusz Kamiński and Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak as well as the leaders of the army and the Border Guard.
He added that the state of emergency needed to be extended “so that our officials and troops are able to carry out their tasks effectively.”
On Monday, Interior Minister Mariusz Kamiński said that roughly one in 10 illegal migrants detained at the frontier with Belarus was “potentially linked to terrorist groups.”
Poland and fellow EU members Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have accused Belarus' strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko of organising a wave of illegal migrants seeking to enter the bloc as part of what officials have called a "hybrid war."
At the start of this month, Poland declared a state of emergency in parts of two regions along its eastern border with Belarus in a bid to stem the flow of migrants from countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
The 30-day state of emergency gives authorities broader powers to monitor and control the movement of people.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP