Such activities will hurt bilateral ties, says foreign secy
Dhaka has told New Delhi that the construction of barbed wire fences by the Indian Border Security Force along the Bangladesh-India border "without proper authorisation" undermines the spirit of cooperation and friendly relations between the two nations.
Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin has made this communication to Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma, who was summoned to the foreign ministry yesterday amid tensions touched off by the recent BSF activities along the border.
"Such activities, particularly the unauthorised attempts to construct barbed wire fencing and the related operational actions by BSF, have caused tensions and disturbances along the border," Jashim Uddin said in a media statement yesterday.
Also, Dhaka will push for the cancellation of any "unequal agreements" related to Bangladesh-India borders at a director general-level meeting of the border forces of the two countries scheduled for February.
Speaking at a press conference at the Secretariat yesterday, Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retired) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said that due to the BSF's recent fencing activities, tensions arose in five border areas, including Chapainawabganj, Naogaon, Lalmonirhat, and the Tin Bigha Corridor.
"Thanks to the strong position of the BGB and locals, India has been forced to halt its activities. I extend my gratitude to them for their role in this matter."
He added that various issues have risen along the border due to some "unequal agreements" signed during the previous government's tenure.
Jahangir Alam said four border-related Memorandums of Understanding have been signed between the two countries since Bangladesh's independence.
Asked at a separate press briefing in the foreign service academy, Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said those four agreements are the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement for the disposal of enclaves and disputed lands; the Joint Indo-Bangladesh Guidelines for Border Authorities 1975; the Land Boundary Agreement Protocol 2011; and the Coordinated Border Management Plan 2011.
The home adviser said that, of those agreements, the 1975 MoU specifies that no defence development activities can take place within 150 yards of the zero line.
"Another MoU states that any development activities cannot occur within the 150 yards of the zero line without mutual consent. Any such work will require prior agreement between the two nations."
He said India has already fenced 3,271km of the 4,156km-long border with Bangladesh, leaving approximately 885km unfenced.
Jahangir Alam accused the previous Awami League government, which was in power between 2009 and 2024, of granting India unequal opportunities through MoUs, which have now led to the disputes over barbed wire fencing at 160 locations.
He stressed that these challenges stemmed from written permissions granted by the previous government. "These permissions should not have been issued."
He also said, "A major problem arises from the written assurances that allowed India to carry out certain activities. One of the significant issues pertains to the Tin Bigha Corridor."
Under the 1974 agreement, he said, Bangladesh handed over Berubari to India after parliamentary ratification. In return, India was supposed to provide Bangladesh with access to the Tin Bigha Corridor, but it failed to fulfil this commitment.
"They would open the corridor for an hour and then close it for another hour. Later, in 2010, a new agreement was signed to keep the corridor open for 24 hours. However, this [2010] agreement also allowed India to construct a border fence on the zero line at Angarpota.
"Now we face challenges in opposing this construction as Bangladesh signed this agreement."
At the meeting with Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma, Foreign Secretary Jashim Uddin expressed serious concerns over BSF's recent activities along the border.
He called upon the Indian government to advise all authorities concerned there to refrain from any provocative activities that could stoke tensions along the shared border.
He hoped the matter would be discussed at length in the upcoming BGB-BSF DG-level talks.
After the meeting, Pranay Verma told journalists they discussed New Delhi's commitment to ensuring a crime-free border, effectively addressing the challenges of smuggling, movements of criminals and trafficking.
"We have an understanding with regard to fencing the border for security, the two border forces -- BSF and BGB -- have been in communication.
"We expect that the understanding will be implemented and there would be a cooperative approach to combatting crimes along the border."
At the meeting, Jashim Uddin also referred to the recent killing of a Bangladesh citizen by BSF in Sunamganj and expressed concern and disappointment over such persistent border killings despite repeated commitments from the Indian authorities to pursue a non-lethal strategy to stop killings.
He strongly called for urgent action by India to stop recurrence of such incidents; conduct enquiries into all the border killings; and take action against those responsible.
Jashim Uddin added that Bangladesh believes such issues should be resolved through constructive dialogues, in accordance with existing bilateral agreements, and in a way that upholds peace and tranquility along the border.
