Bangladesh and India engaged in a diplomatic exchange on Sunday over escalating tensions at the border, with Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry summoning Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma to express “deep concern” regarding the “recent activities of the Border Security Force (BSF).”
The development followed accusations from Dhaka that India was attempting to construct fences at five locations along the Indo-Bangla border, allegedly violating a bilateral agreement.
After meeting with 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 stated in Dhaka. Earlier in the day, Bangladesh Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd.) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury noted that India had paused the construction of barbed wire fencing along the border following strong opposition from the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and local residents.
The Bangladesh Foreign Ministry reported that Jashim Uddin conveyed to the Indian envoy that the “unauthorized attempt” by the BSF to construct fences, along with related operational actions, had heightened 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,” the Ministry’s statement read.
The statement also addressed a recent incident involving the killing of a Bangladeshi citizen in Sunamganj by the BSF. “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 stated.
Jashim Uddin reiterated Bangladesh’s stance that such issues should be resolved through dialogue.
