BSF fires blank shots along border
The Indian external affairs ministry on Monday summoned Bangladesh deputy high commissioner to India Nural Islam a day after Dhaka summoned Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma amid escalating tension between the two countries over fencing the border by the Indian Border Security Force.
The deputy high commissioner was summoned to the South Block that houses the external affairs ministry in New Delhi following media聽 reports that India was attempting to construct barbed wire fences at five locations along the 4,156-kilometre India-Bangladesh border in violation of international law and a bilateral deal as well, diplomatic sources confirmed.
The foreign ministry was aware of the Indian move, but would not give any statement for now over the matter, an official concerned said.聽
Meanwhile, the Indian BSF on Monday fired four blanks in Shibtala area along the Ghojadanga border of India, opposite Bhomra border of Bangladesh in Satkhira, triggering panic among the villagers along the border in Bangladesh and prompting the Border Guard Bangladesh personnel to assuage their fear, 抖阴精品 correspondent in Satkhira reported.聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
Lutfor Rahman, a local resident, said that they heard several gunshots from the Shibtala side during the Fajr prayers. 鈥榃e became panicked,鈥� said Lutfor.
BGB 33 Battalion assistant director Masud Rana said that the BSF had fired four sound gun bullets.
鈥業t鈥檚 India鈥檚 internal issue. There is nothing to panic for the Bangladeshi people living along the border,鈥� said Masud.
The ouster of Sheikh Hasina regime amid a student-led mass uprising on August 5 and her subsequent refuge in India has strained diplomatic ties between the two neighbours.聽
Diplomatic ties between India and Bangladesh have been stable historically. But, former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 ouster after her government was toppled in a student-led revolution and her subsequent refuge in India have strained the relation between the two nations, Indian media reports said.
Last month, the interim Bangladesh government led by Muhammad Yunus requested India to send back Sheikh Hasina, who fled there for shelter amid a student-led mass uprising on August 5, to face trial.
Dhaka has already issued an arrest warrant for Hasina, who was supposed to appear in court in November 2024, to face charges of 鈥榤assacres, killings and crimes against humanity鈥�.
On Sunday, the Bangladesh government urged India to refrain from any provocative actions amid tension along the border over the construction of border fencing at several points in violation of international law with additional deployment of forces on both sides.
The foreign ministry summoned the high commissioner of India to Bangladesh on the day to express its concern over the construction of barbed wire fence and protest at the recent killing of a Bangladesh national by the Indian Border Security Force in the border area.
Bangladesh foreign secretary Md Jashim Uddin conveyed to the Indian envoy that such activities, particularly the attempt to construct unauthorised barbed wire fence and the related operational actions by the BSF, had caused tension and disturbances in the border, said a foreign ministry release issued later on the day.
鈥楾he 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,鈥� said the release.
On Sunday, home affairs adviser retired lieutenant general Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said that the Border Guard Bangladesh was on the alert along borders and their strong position accompanied by local people forced India to stop the construction of barbed wire fences at five points in Chapainawabganj, Naogaon and Lalmonirhat.
Referring to the 1975 Joint India-Bangladesh Guidelines for border authorities, the home affairs adviser said that there was a specific ban on defence-related activities within 150 yards from the zero line of the border.聽
If any country wants to construct any structure in the 150 yards of the no-man鈥檚- land, it has to take permission from the other country, he said.
India had already constructed barbed wire fences along 3,271km of the 4,156km border, according to the home adviser.
鈥榃e have an understanding with regard to fencing the border for security. Our two border forces鈥撯�搕he BSF and the BGB鈥撯�揾ave been in communication in this regard,鈥� Pranay Verma told reporters after the meeting in Dhaka on Sunday.
The Indian high commissioner said that he met the foreign secretary to discuss India鈥檚 commitment to ensure a crime-free border and effectively address the challenges of smuggling and trafficking.
On Saturday, the BSF obstructed farmers Nazrul Islam and Nazmul聽Hossain from cultivating their land near the Lakshidari border in Bhomra of Satkhira.
BGB officials said that following the incident the two border forces met in a battalion-level flag meeting in which a decision was taken to measure the territory of the two countries in that area. Until then the two farmers would not be able to cultivate the land, they added.
