Border issues with Bangladesh being discussed in bilateral DG-level talks, says MEA

Responding to a question regarding reports of people allegedly being pushed across the border by either side, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the matter was being addressed through established bilateral mechanisms.

"We have the Border Guard Bangladesh and BSF DG-level meeting going on; this is a bilateral engagement between India and Bangladesh to discuss relevant issues, and we will hopefully get an update on the meeting," Jaiswal said during the weekly media briefing.

He noted that both countries were using the ongoing dialogue to address concerns and exchange views on border-related matters.

"These are issues which both sides are discussing and will be discussing during their conversation," the MEA spokesperson added.

The remarks came amid DG-level talks between the BSF and Border Guard Bangladesh, which remain the appropriate platform for discussing such issues.

The biannual conference which started on Monday is set to continue till June 11 in the national capital with discussions focused on fence breaching by Bangladesh nationals, prevention against assault on Border Security Force (BSF) personnel and Indian civilians and prevention of trans-border crimes.

The four-day conference will also see discussions held on the prevention of the entry of Bangladeshi criminals into India, construction of a fence, action against Indian Insurgent Groups (IIGs) in Bangladesh, issues related to border infrastructure, Confidence Building Measures (CBM) and others.

The BSF delegation is led by its Director General Praveen Kumar, with the BGB delegation headed by Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui, Director General, Border Guard Bangladesh.

The last BSF-BGB Border Co-ordination Conference was held from August 25 to August 28 last year in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The Joint India-Bangladesh guidelines for Border Authorities - 1975 envisage that there should be frequent contacts between the border authorities of the two concerned countries to discuss matters of immediate administrative concern.

An Indian delegation under the leadership of Ashwani Kumar, former Director General of BSF, and the Bangladesh delegation under the leadership of Major General Quazi Golam Dastgir, former Director General BDR (now BGB), met at Kolkata on December 2, 1975, for the first time to discuss mutual border problems. Since then, the meetings between DG BSF and DG BGB were held annually alternatively in India and Bangladesh, till 1993.

During discussions between the Home Secretaries of India and Bangladesh that were held in Dhaka from October 7 to 9, 1993, it was agreed that the Director General-level meetings between the BSF and BGB were to be a bi-annual event.

In the agreed summary of discussions during the meeting, it was emphasised that problems in the areas of mutual interests and concerns could be progressively resolved through close contacts and continuing meaningful dialogue at various levels.

Accordingly, DG BSF and DG BGB have been holding Border Coordination meetings twice a year alternately in Delhi and Dhaka, and a joint record of discussions of these meetings is forwarded to the Ministry of Home Affairs after each such meeting. (ANI)