BSF-BGB Meet: Rescheduled talks begin tomorrow
The director general-level talks between the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the Indian Border Security Force (BSF), which were postponed earlier as the BSF delegation failed to reach Dhaka, will now take place between tomorrow and September 19.
The formal meeting will start at 10:45am tomorrow at the BGB's Pilkhana Headquarters, said a BGB press release.
Major General Md Shafeenul Islam, DG of the BGB, will lead the 13-member Bangladeshi delegation, which will include top officials from the BGB and officials from prime minister's office, home and foreign ministries, joint river commission and Land Record and Survey Department
Rakesh Asthana, DG of the BSF, will lead a six-member delegation, which will include high officials and India's home and foreign ministries, the press release added.Rakesh Asthana, DG of the BSF, will lead a six-member delegation, which will include high officials and India's home and foreign ministries, the press release added.
The conference will conclude with the signing of a Joint Record of Discussion on September 19
The border conference, which was initially set for September 13, had been postponed as the BSF delegation failed to reach Dhaka due to a technical glitch in their aircraft. They are expected in Dhaka today.
The issue of killing Bangladeshi nationals along the Indo-Bangla border is likely to dominate the talks.
Until August this year, 33 Bangladeshis were killed along the Bangladesh-India frontiers. According to rights group Ain o Salish Kendra, 15 people were killed along the border in 2018, and the number rose to 43 last year.
All other important border related issues, including untreated household, industrial and medical waste flowing into Bangladesh via a canal in Akhaura, would also take priority during the discussions, officials said earlier.
Other issues to be discussed at the meeting would include cross-border smuggling -- especially of drugs -- and construction of structures like barbed wire fences and other installations.
Officials in India earlier said further issues like better mechanisms to stop attacks and assault on BSF personnel and Indian civilians by criminals of both countries were expected to be discussed, reported our New Delhi correspondent earlier.
The Indian side was also expected to discuss joint border-security management, fencing of unfenced areas, and effective steps to curb cross-border crimes.
Smuggling of cattle and fake Indian currency, illegal migration, human trafficking, breaching or damaging the border fence and illegal crossing by Rohingya refugees would also be discussed, Indian officials said.
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