New Delhi: Amid the growing tensions between India and Bangladesh, the Foreign Ministry on Monday summoned Bangladesh’s deputy high commissioner Nural Islam to address the issue. Earlier on Sunday, the Bangladeshi Ministry of Foreign Affairs had called in Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma after allegations that India was planning to build fences at five designated points along the 4,156-kilometre Indo-Bangladeshi border. These actions were reportedly in breach of a bilateral pact that governs border activities of both countries.
Verma arrived at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Dhaka around 3pm local time. His meeting with Bangladeshi Foreign Secretary Jashim Uddin lasted about 45 minutes, according to the state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) news agency.
After the meeting, Verma told the media that both Dhaka and New Delhi have established agreements regarding border fencing for security reasons. He noted that the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have been in regular communication on the issue. Verma expressed hope that these agreements would be successfully implemented, promoting a collaborative approach to addressing border-related crimes.
What the MoUs on border-related issues say
Earlier, Bangladesh’s home affairs adviser, Lt Gen (Retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, had stated that the Foreign Ministry had been informed and that Verma could be summoned for talks regarding issues along the Indo-Bangla border. Chowdhury added that work at all disputed border points had been suspended, with no further activities allowed.
Chowdhury also mentioned that Bangladesh and India are governed by four memorandums of understanding (MoUs) on border-related issues. Among these MoUs, the 1975 MoU underlines that no defense-related developments can occur within 150 yards of the zero line. In addition, another MoU mandates that any development within this boundary requires mutual consent, with both countries needing to reach a prior agreement before any such activity can take place.
