Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Md. Jashim Uddin on Sunday voiced grave concern to High Commissioner of India Pranay Verma 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.
He stressed that such activities particularly the unauthorised attempt to construct barbed wire fencing and the related operational actions by BSF, have caused tensions and disturbances along the border, officials of foreign ministry said.
He emphasised that the construction of barbed wire fences without proper authorisation undermines the spirit of cooperation and friendly relations between the two neighbouring countries. He 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 BSF, the foreign secretary expressed deep concern and disappointment over such repetition of border killings. He 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.
He mentioned that it is also a matter of grave concern that despite repeated firm commitments from the Indian authorities to pursue non-lethal strategy and to stop killings, such incidents of killing have been continuing.
The foreign secretary called upon the Government of India to advise all authorities concerned in India to refrain from any provocative actions that could escalate tensions along the shared border.
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, he said.
Later, talking to the reporter the high commissioner said they discussed issues related to the movement of criminals and trafficking on the border.
"We have an understanding with regard to fencing the border for security. Our two border guarding forces, the BSF and the BGB, have been in communication in this regard.
"We expect that understandings will be implemented and that there will be a cooperative approach to combatting crime" Mr Verma said.
Earlier in the day, Home Adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said that the BGB took a tough stance on the border compelling the BSF to stop the fencing work.
Recently, the BSF started fencing work in five spots along the border without consulting with the Bangladesh side triggering resentment among people in the adjacent area.
