Following blasts, India revives JWG negotiations with Bangla

With the issue of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh coming into focus following the bomb blasts in Jaipur last month...

With the issue of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh coming into focus following the bomb blasts in Jaipur last month, India has urged Dhaka to act resolutely to end infiltration from its side and crack down on Indian insurgents operating from its soil.

The Jaipur blasts—which initial indications suggested could be the handiwork of the Bangladesh-based terror outfit, Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami or HuJI— forced the revival of the 2003 Joint Working Group (JWG) negotiations between the two countries after five years.

At a meeting held last week, joint secretary (northeast) in the Home Ministry Naveen Verma conveyed India’s serious concern at the continuing flow of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh into Indian territory. Bangladesh was represented by M H Chowdhury, its joint secretary (political).

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Home Ministry sources said that India also took up the issue of Bangladesh providing shelter to insurgent groups from India and asked Dhaka to hand over such people to New Delhi. The Indian side is also understood to have given a list of the militant leaders it believes to be camping out in Bangladesh.

The decision to revive the JWG negotiations was taken at Home Secretary level talks between the two countries in August last year. It was agreed that the JWG should meet every six months.

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