BSF pledges to stop killing of innocents : DG-level meeting with BGB begins

A director-general-level meeting of the border guards of India and Bangladesh began yesterday amidst high hopes for resolution of common boundary-related problems.

 Meanwhile, Raman Srivastava, the visiting Indian Border Security Force (BSF) director general, met Home Minister Shahara Khatun at her office in the Secretariat and promised that no more killing of innocent Bangladeshis will occur in the border areas, Shahara told reporters.

The BSF director general and his counterpart Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Director GeneralMaj Gen Anwar Hussain raised boundary issues of their concern yesterday on the inaugural day of the six-day-long conference at the BGB headquarters in the city's Pilkhana.

Anwar Hussain urged Srivastava to stop killing of unarmed Bangladeshis by the Indian force.

He also placed eight other issues including arrest and kidnapping of Bangladeshi nationals by BSF and Indians, border violation, illegal border crossing, and intrusion into Bangladesh territory by BSF and Indian citizens.

The BGB director general demanded that smuggling of various types of drugs be stopped from India to Bangladesh.

The BSF chief also raised the issue of trans-border crimes committed by Bangladeshi people in Indian territory.

BGB top officials demanded stopping of construction of military wire obstacles by the Indian authority within 150 yards of land boundary.

On the first day of the conference, both sides stressed the need for taking confidence building measures, BGB sources told The Daily Star.

During the talks, the Indian side claimed that Indian insurgent groups are active in Bangladesh, which was outright rejected by Bangladesh, meeting sources said.

Border killing high on agenda

BGB-BSF meet starts today

Star Report

Bangladesh will reiterate its concern over the killings of civilians along its border with India during the director-general level meeting of the border guards of India and Bangladesh in Dhaka today.

Countering terror and effective joint patrolling along the frontier will also be high on the agenda.

The six-day talks between Border Security Force of India and Border Guard Bangladesh will be held in Pilkhana headquarters of BGB.

A 21-member delegation led by BSF Director General Raman Srivastava reached Dhaka yesterday to meet his counterpart Maj Gen Anwar Hussain.

Talking to The Daily Star, Col Hafizur Rahman of BGB said apart from the boarder killing issue, the BGB delegates will raise the issues of women, children and drug trafficking and illegal border crossings.

“The Bangladesh side will also stress the need for confidence building between the two sides and implementation of a coordinated border management plan,” Col Hafizur added.

The two sides are expected to hand over lists of militant hideouts in their respective regions, the official said. A joint memorandum will also be signed on the last day of the talks, September 30.

BSF and BGB man the 4,096km border between the two countries.

Bangladesh has repeatedly voiced concern over the killings of its nationals by BSF which, however, argues that they have no option but to open fire to stop criminals who do not listen to their verbal warnings.

BSF recently promised not to use lethal weapons along the border. However, Bangladeshi nationals continue to die in the hands of BSF.

The recent visit of the Indian premier to Dhaka has created new hope in resolving unsettled border issues as the chiefs of the two countries already signed agreements on the historic land boundary demarcation and exchange of adversely-possessed enclaves.

Asked about items on the Indian agenda, Col Hafizur said BSF will raise the issue of attack on BSF personnel by Bangladeshi people. BSF will also give importance to confidence building between the border guards of the two countries.

Our New Delhi correspondent adds: The two sides are expected to take stock of their recent joint decision to deploy non-lethal weapons along the border and granting of 24-hour unfettered access to Bangladeshi nationals in the Tin Bigha corridor connecting Dahagram and Angapota enclaves.

The last director general-level talks between the forces were held in Delhi in March this year.