Bangladesh summons Indian envoy over border tensions

After meeting Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Jashim Uddin, the Indian High Commissioner said: “I just met Foreign Secretary to discuss India’s commitment to ensuring a crime-free border, effectively addressing challenges of smuggling, movement of criminals and trafficking.”

“We have an understanding with regard to fencing the border for security. BSF and BGB (Border Guard Bangladesh) have been in communication in this regard. We expect that understandings will be implemented and there will be a cooperative approach to combating crime,” Verma said in Dhaka.

Earlier in the day, Bangladesh Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd.) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said that India had halted the construction of barbed wire fencing along the border after strong opposition from the BGB and local residents.

According to the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry, Jashim Uddin told the Indian envoy that the “unauthorized attempt” to construct fences and related operational actions by BSF have caused tensions along the border.

“He emphasised that the construction of barbed wire fences without proper authorization undermines the spirit of cooperation and friendly relations between the two neighboring countries. He hoped that the upcoming BGB-BSF DG Level Talks would be able to discuss the matter at length,” it said in a statement.

“Referring to the recent killing of a Bangladesh citizen at Sunamganj by BSF, Foreign Secretary… 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,” it said.

He said Bangladesh believes such issues should be resolved through dialogue.