New Delhi: The border forces of India and Bangladesh discussed, among other things, issues related to illegal and forcible crossings during a Director General-level meeting in New Delhi this week, officials said.
The three-day meeting, from Monday to Thursday, chaired by the heads of the Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), also featured extensive discussions on forging closer cooperation to address emerging security challenges.
The BSF delegation was led by its Director-General Praveen Kumar, while the BGB delegation was led by Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui. This week’s edition of the DG-level meet was the 57th edition of the biannual event, in practice since 1993, and scheduled alternately in Dhaka and New Delhi as a common platform for the top brass of the border-guarding forces to discuss emerging challenges.
In a joint statement released Friday, a BSF spokesperson highlighted that trans-border crimes, including smuggling of narcotics, arms, counterfeit currency, gold and other contraband, as well as illegal border crossings and human trafficking, were among the top issues discussed at the meeting.
“The two delegations also discussed issues relating to border deaths and illegal or inadvertent or forcible crossing at the border areas, construction of border infrastructure, implementation of the Coordinated Border Management Plan, confidence-building measures and the need for closer cooperation in addressing emerging security challenges along the border,” the BSF spokesperson said.
The statement further highlighted that the talks were conducted in a very cordial manner, with both sides satisfied with the outcome and progress of discussions on contentious topics. However, sources in the force said that some issues, such as refusal to take in Bangladeshi nationals who had illegally entered Indian boundaries, remain unsolved.
“The issues around the eviction of foreign nationals who entered through illegal means and their denial to take them in remains a key unsolved agenda, and unfortunately it has been the case for several years now,” a BSF official said.
The same issue was also flagged by the previous BSF Chief, Daljit Singh Chawdhary, who raised concerns about “delaying and denying” entry to Bangladeshi nationals at a similar meeting in Dhaka last August.
India has 4,097 kilometres of land border with Bangladesh in its eastern and north-eastern region, and illegal immigration from the region has become a priority for the Amit Shah-led Ministry of Home Affairs.
Delivering the Rustamji Memorial Lecture in honour of the BSF’s founding father and first director general, Padma Vibhushan K. F. Rustamji, Shah on May 22 urged BSF personnel to work with the same intensity against illegal infiltration that they had exhibited against Left Wing Extremism.
Emphasising the critical role of the BSF, Shah had informed the top brass of the border force and the national security apparatus that the government plans to bring in a new strategy to combat illegal immigration.
“Since I am here today at the BSF’s programme, I also want to talk about the issue of infiltration. The Government of India has decided that the force will not only stop illegal infiltration but also identify illegal infiltrators one by one and send them out of the country, and will not allow artificial changes to our demography,” Shah said.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)