Bangladesh’s caretaker government announced on Monday it will renegotiate some of the border agreements signed with India, which it said were “uneven.” The issue will be brought up in the director-general-level talks between Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and India’s Border Security Force (BSF) set for February 17-20 in New Delhi.
Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, Home Adviser, said that all border-related agreements would be discussed, and Bangladesh will seek changes in some aspects of border management. The main issues include the status of Kulaura Railway Station, which is located three kilometers inside Bangladesh. BGB does not want free movement of Indian nationals at the station and wants to establish an immigration checkpoint with customs facilities at the border.
BGB chief Maj Gen Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui will lead a Bangladesh delegation which will sit to discuss with BSF Director General Daljit Singh Chaudhary. There will be matters related to the killings along borders, illegal intrusion, smuggling of arms, ammunitions and drugs, besides environmental issues connected with wastewater generated in India’s Agartala which is contaminating Bangladesh’s Akhaura.
Chowdhury said that any construction without permission within 150 yards of the border needs mutual consent. The talks will discuss India’s unapproved development projects and suggest a coordinated border management plan. Bangladesh will also seek the installation of water treatment plants in four canals affected by wastewater from India.
It will raise an issue on Indian media and Bangladesh-related misinformation which spreads via different social networking sites. Mutual trust and cooperation would be developed as part of discussion between both countries.