Staff Reporter :
Home affairs adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said that Bangladesh will speak in a ‘different tone’ during the upcoming border conference between the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the Indian Border Security Force (BSF).
He made the statement while briefing the media following an inter-ministerial preparatory meeting at the secretariat on Wednesday.
The home adviser, however, didn’t elaborate the phrase’ different tone’. The border conference is scheduled to take place from 17 to 20 February in New Delhi of India. Alongside the regular agenda, Bangladesh will discuss border killings and unfair deals with the neighboring country during the meeting.
The adviser said border killings are not acceptable under any circumstances and must be stopped at any cost. “In many cases, the BSF and their miscreants abducted Bangladeshi citizens from the border while they were farming. They will be asked to stop this.”
Referring to drug smuggling, Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said the Indians set up Phensedyl and other drug factories in the bordering areas on the pretext of using those as medicine. But these are actually used as drugs and sent to Bangladesh.
At the same time, the Indian authorities occasionally take initiatives to carry out some activities that are restricted within the 150-yard of the border. Also, there are some activities that require permission from both sides, he said, adding the border conference will address these issues and lay emphasis on compliance of rules.
Among other issues, the conference will discuss ways to stop circulation of fake news by Indian media outlets, sharing river water in a fair way, implementing water sharing agreements, and improving bilateral ties as well as trust.
Mentioning four previous agreements with India, Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said there were some major problems in the agreement signed in 2010. The agreement is unequal to some extent. It will be discussed in the conference.
