Oct 27, 2024 02:40 PM IST
Last week, the chiefs of the border guarding forces of India and Bangladesh had mutually agreed on the dates for the biannual DG level meeting next month
The director general (DG) level border talks between India and Bangladesh that were to be held between November 18 and 22 have been postponed on Bangladesh’s request, officials aware of the matter in India said.
Last week, the chiefs of the border guarding forces of India and Bangladesh had mutually agreed on the dates for the biannual director generals’ meeting next month. Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui, director general of the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB), was scheduled to lead the Bangladesh delegation during the talks hosted by the BSF in New Delhi.
“They have officially confirmed about being unable to come to New Delhi on the proposed dates. They said they will propose a new date. Last night, BGB also issued press statements to the Bangladesh media about being unable to attend the talks because of the political situation in their country. The new dates are yet to be announced,” a senior BSF officer said.
The Bangladesh media quoted, BGB Deputy Director General (Media) Colonel Mohammad Shariful Islam confirming the development. “ With approval from the home ministry, the BGB requested the BSF to delay the meeting by a month, as BGB officials are currently deployed across the country due to the present situation,” the officer was quoted in Bangladesh media.
The meeting, though routine, is significant this time because it is the first one that will be held after the regime change in Bangladesh on August 5. It comes against the backdrop of a string of recent incidents in which the two forces have been locked in an impasse.
The most recent was over BGB guards ostensibly failing to stop armed criminals from entering India. While the Bangladesh high commission lodged a protest over a Bangladesh national’s death in India on October 7, BSF officials during a sector commandant-level flag meeting informed their counterparts that the armed intruders had crossed into Indian territory, attacked a jawan, and tried to snatch his rifle during which one of the men was shot dead.
The Indian side will be led by BSF director general Daljit Chaudhary.
The last DG-level meet was hosted by BGB in Dhaka in March 2024. The talks are hosted twice a year — once each in India and Bangladesh.
Officials said that among the issues that the Indian side will flag will be attacks on jawans; BGB personnel on the ground stopping BSF from carrying out construction works; safety of minorities living in the border villages; arrest of Indian fishermen who was accidentally strayed into Bangladeshi territory but were tagged as armed criminals; and attempted mass infiltration into India. After the August 5 regime change in Bangladesh, BGB has also stopped BSF from continuing the ongoing construction work along the border at over half a dozen places.
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