Border killing, drug smuggling to get priority in BGB-BSF talks
According to Ain O Salish Kendra, 33 Bangladeshis have been killed along the India-Bangladesh border so far this year
The 50th biannual meeting between the border forces of Bangladesh and India will begin Thursday at Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) headquarters in the capital's Peelkhana.
A six-member Indian team, led by Indian Border Security Force (BSF) Director General Rakesh Astana, arrived in Bangladesh on Wednesday morning to attend the conference.
During this meeting, the BGB is expected to raise the issue of the rising number of deaths at the India-Bangladesh borders. Besides, the ways to prevent smuggling of drugs through new routes from India will also be discussed.
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The three-day biannual talks between the BGB Director General Major General M Shafeenul Islam and BSF head Rakesh Asthana will end on Saturday.
The BGB has raised its concern regarding the deaths of the unarmed individuals in borders, and said that Bangladesh has laid high importance on stopping violence on the borders, according to state news agency BSS.
BGB's Operations Director Lieutenant Colonel Fayzur Rahman said Bangladesh would primarily focus on border killings during the meeting.
He further added, "The entry of waste from India through Akhaura-Agartala ICP [check post] will also get priority in the talks, as we have been trying hard to stop inflows of such wastes."
According to rights group Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), 15 Bangladeshi citizens were killed by the BSF along the Bangladesh-India border in 2018, and the number rose to 43 last year. This year, , 33 Bangladeshis have been killed along the border until Wednesday.
BSF sector commanders, personnel from the Narcotics Control Bureau and representatives of the External Affairs Ministry will also join BSF DG Rakesh Asthana in Dhaka.
A source from the BGB said the personnel from the Narcotics Control Bureau of India may participate in the meeting to be held to discuss the ways to prevent the smuggling of drugs.
The biannual meet has been being held since 1975 in order to discuss the management of the 4,096-km long border. These talks are once held in Bangladesh and once in Delhi.
The BSF delegation arrived in Bangladesh through the Akhaura international immigration check post in Brahmanbaria and reached Peelkhana by a Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) helicopter.
The conference will conclude with the signing of a Joint Record of Discussions (JRD). And after the conference on the same day, the BSF delegation will return to India.
The border conference was slated to be held from September 13 to 18.
But it was postponed as the BSF aircraft that was set to carry the BSF delegation faced technical difficulties. This caused delay in the arrival of the BSF delegation in Bangladesh.
