Bangladesh urges India to avoid border provocations

Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin on Sunday called upon the government of India to advise all the authorities concerned in India to refrain from any provocative actions that could escalate tensions along the shared border.

He conveyed Bangladesh's deep concern to High Commissioner of India Pranay Verma during a meeting at his office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over the recent activities of the Border Security Force (BSF) of India along the Bangladesh-India border.

The foreign secretary stressed that such activities, particularly the unauthorised attempt to construct barbed wire fences and the related operational actions by the BSF, have caused tensions and disturbances along the border.

He said the construction of barbed wire fences without proper authorisation undermines the spirit of cooperation and friendly relations between the two neighbouring countries.

Jashim hoped that the upcoming BGB-BSF DG-level talks would be able to discuss the matter at length.

Referring to the recent killing of a Bangladesh citizen in Sunamganj by the BSF, he expressed deep concern and disappointment over such repetition of border killings.

The foreign secretary strongly resented these acts of killing and called for urgent action by the Indian authorities to stop the recurrence of such incidents and conduct enquiries into all these border killings and take action against those responsible.

Jashim mentioned it is also a matter of grave concern that despite repeated firm commitments from the Indian authorities to pursue a non-lethal strategy and to stop killings, such incidents have been continuing.

He also said Bangladesh believes that such issues should be resolved through constructive dialogue, in accordance with existing bilateral agreements, and in a way that upholds peace and tranquility along the border.