Foreign Secretary Md. Jashim Uddin on Sunday called upon the government of India to advise all the authorities concerned in India to refrain from “any provocative actions” that could escalate tensions along the shared border.
He conveyed Bangladesh’s deep concern to High Commissioner of India Pranay Verma during a meeting at his office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over the recent activities of the Border Security Force (BSF) of India along the Bangladesh-India border.
Earlier in the day, Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury indicated that the Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka might be summoned to discuss the border issues.
High Commissioner Verma was seen entering the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building at around 3pm on Sunday, following reports of heightened tensions along the shared border of the two neighbouring countries.
“We have an understanding with regard to fencing the border for security. Our two border guard enforcements – BSF and BGB – have been in communication in this regard,” the High Commissioner told reporters in his brief statement after the meeting that lasted over half an hour.
Verma expressed the hope that the understandings that the two border forces have will be implemented in a cooperative approach in combating the crimes along the border.
The High Commissioner said he met the Foreign Secretary to discuss India’s commitment to ensuring a crime-free border and effectively addressing the challenges of smuggling and trafficking.
The Foreign Secretary stressed that such activities particularly the unauthorised attempt to construct barbed wire fencing and the related operational actions by BSF, have caused tensions and disturbances along the border.
He said that the construction of barbed wire fences without proper authorisation undermines the spirit of cooperation and friendly relations between the two neighboring countries.
The Foreign Secretary hoped that the upcoming BGB-BSF DG level talks would be able to discuss the matter at length.
Referring to the recent killing of a Bangladesh citizen at Sunamganj by BSF, the Foreign Secretary expressed deep concern and disappointment over such repetition of border killings.
He strongly resented these acts of killing and called for urgent action by the Indian authorities to stop recurrence of such incidents and conduct enquiries into all these border killings and take actions against those responsible.
Jashim Uddin mentioned that it is also a matter of grave concern that despite repeated firm commitments from the Indian authorities to pursue non-lethal strategy and to stop killings such incidents of killing have been continuing.
The Foreign Secretary also mentioned that Bangladesh believes that such issues should be resolved through constructive dialogue, in accordance with existing bilateral agreements, and in a way that upholds peace and tranquility along the border.
The India-Bangladesh border, one of the longest international borders in the world, has often been a point of contention, with incidents ranging from border security issues to the movement of people.
