The Muhammad Yunus-led interim government in Bangladesh on Sunday claimed that its Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) stopped its Indian counterpart, the Border Security Force (BSF), from installing fences in at least five locations along the 4,096-kilometre-long border that the country shares with India.
As bilateral relations between the countries nosedived after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, the BSF took the initiative to fortify the border by putting up fences along the unfenced stretches.
Along the border, there are many stretches with no fences for years. In Bengal, where the length of the border is around 2,217 kilometres, fences are yet to be put in around 20 per cent of the stretch.
However, when the BSF took up the task of installing the fences, the BGB objected and resisted the job in different locations.
In the wake of this, according to reports that came up in the Bangladeshi media on Sunday, the Yunus-led government will review certain bilateral agreements signed between India and Bangladesh during Hasina’s regime.
Those associated with the Yunus-led interim government have reason to believe that these agreements had given an upper hand to India, according to Bangladeshi media reports.
A report in Bangladesh’s The Daily Star quoted Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Choudhury, the adviser to the home affairs ministry of the country, as saying that the BGB objected to fencing in these locations as the BSF tried to put up fences near the Zero Line or the India-Bangladesh border.
“Due to some unequal agreements signed during the previous government’s tenure, various issues have arisen along the Bangladesh-India border. However, the efforts of our people and the BGB have compelled India to stop certain activities, including the construction of barbed wire fences,” The Daily Star quoted Choudhury.
Over the past week, the BGB had objected to fencing along the unfenced stretches of the India-Bangladesh border in Malda, Cooch Behar and South Dinajpur districts.
In Mekhliganj of Cooch Behar, where Dahagram-Angarpota — the sole Bangladeshi enclave connected to the mainland of the neighbouring country through the Tinbigha corridor — is located, villagers went ahead and installed the fenced along a 2km stretch on their own.
However, in Sukdebpur of Malda, workers engaged in fencing alleged that the BGB personnel threatened to open fire if they did not stop the work.
Similarly, in Sibrampur of South Dinajpur, the BGB didn’t allow the installation of fences.
Choudhury, the Bangladesh adviser to the home ministry, on Sunday said that four memorandums of understanding (MoUs) existed to decide on the border issues of India and Bangladesh.
He said that in 2010, as it was decided to keep the Tinbigha corridor open for Bangladeshis for 24 hours, it was also agreed that India could construct a border fence at the Zero Line in Dahagram-Angarpota, unlike other areas where no construction could carried out within 150 yards from the Zero Line on both sides.
“We opposed the construction but simultaneously, there is a challenge as Bangladesh is a signatory to the agreement. That is why we need to review these agreements,” Choudhury was quoted as saying.
Later in the day, the Bangladesh foreign ministry issued a release, saying Md Jashim Uddin, the foreign secretary, met Pranay Sharma, the Indian high commissioner in Dhaka, over the recent BSF activities. “He (Jashim Uddin) emphasised that the construction of barbed wire fences without proper authorisation undermines the spirit of cooperation and friendly relations between the two neighboring countries. He hoped that the upcoming BGB-BSF DG Level Talks would be able to discuss the matter at length,” said the release.
These talks are likely to take place next month, sources said.
Sharma told the media that India was committed to stopping illegal activities through the border. “There is a specific understanding about fencing the border and the BSF and the BGB are in coordination with each other on the issue,” he said.
There was no official confirmation on whether the Bangladesh government would review border agreements with India. The Bangladeshi foreign ministry release also didn’t mention it.