New Delhi: India summoned Bangladesh’s Acting High Commissioner Nural Islam Monday as tensions over fencing along the border between the two countries escalated.
“India reiterated its commitment to ensuring a crime-free border by effectively addressing the challenges of cross-border criminal activities, smuggling, movement of criminals and trafficking. Barbed wire fencing, border lighting, installation of technical devices and cattle fences are measures for securing the border,” said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
New Delhi expects Bangladesh to implement all earlier understandings with regard to management of the border, added the statement.
This action came a day after the Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Pranay Verma, met with Dhaka’s foreign secretary, Md. Jashim Uddin, to discuss the issue. On Sunday, Verma urged Dhaka to “implement” existing understandings concerned with fencing on the border and continue the cooperative approach to combat trans-border crimes.
The Indian envoy in Dhaka said that he held conversations around New Delhi’s commitment to combating crimes along the border—including smuggling and trafficking activities—with Md. Jashim Uddin.
Tensions have, in recent weeks, escalated, with the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) objecting to the efforts by India’s Border Security Force (BSF) to deter smuggling activities from across the border and attempting to erect fences at five locations along the border.
At the Sunday meeting, Jashim Uddin “stressed” that the BSF activities, “particularly the unauthorised attempt to construct barbed wire fencing”, have caused tensions and disturbances along the border while expressing deep concern before Verma.
“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,” said a statement published by the Bangladesh foreign ministry after the meeting.
The BSF allegedly shot Saidul Islam, 23, at the border in Sunamganj last Wednesday after reports of him illegally carrying betel nuts into India, according to news reports from Bangladesh. The BGB rescued Islam, but he was later declared dead at a local hospital.
Then, on Thursday night, cattle smugglers allegedly attacked the BSF personnel along the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas. In a statement later, the BSF said that in retaliatory action, it successfully stopped their smuggling attempt and recovered 10 bulls.
The incident took place at the Khutadah border outpost (BOP), and the BSF had to fire blank rounds as a warning against the Bangladeshi smugglers.
Last week, the BGB objected to the BSF’s attempts to erect a border fence in the Sukdevpur area in Malda district, as well as attempts by Indian villagers to erect similar temporary border fencing in Cooch Behar, according to news reports.
Due to the objections by the BGB, the fencing work in Sukdevpur has since been paused. India and Bangladesh share a border of 4,096.7 kilometres—the largest land border shared by New Delhi with its neighbouring countries.
Over the years, the two countries have developed various mechanisms to cooperate along the border, including high-level talks between the BSF and the BGB and coordination between the nodal drug control agencies.
This is an updated version of the report
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
Your reporting is so self contradictory ! While you write that the Acting Bangladesh HC was summoned by the MEA in New Delhi, you non-chalantly write, very blissfully, that the Indian HC “had met the BD Foreign Secretary to discuss the matter” !! Really !!? The Foreign Ministry issued statement that the Indian HC was summarily summoned and a strong protest was lodged by the For. Sec. for BSF attempting to raise fence from 60 yards of the border line instead of the allowed 150 yards ! So did the Indian HC simply met the BD For. Sec. !!? You also did not bother to mention why the dispute had arisen and keep on talking about stopping border “crimes” !! How incredible !! I had thought the Print would publish report based on facts but it seems I was terribly mistaken ! When it comes to India’s image being embarrassed by it’s smaller neighbour all Indians are same !! As if smaller neighbours cannot have the audacity to summon the ambassador of the neighbouring openly hostile neighbour!! FYI, AFTER the Indian HC was summoned and given a brushing, New Delhi did the same with BD HC. Hope you will report more objectively.