B'desh border fencing in line with pacts: India

A day after Dhaka expressed "deep concern" over New Delhi's border fencing works, India on Monday summoned Bangladesh's most senior diplomat and made it clear that all security measures on the frontier were in keeping with existing agreements and protocols.

- Rezaul H Laskar

NEW DELHI:

The escalation in tensions on the border, including Bangladesh's opposition to India's efforts to build a fence at five locations on the frontier, has come at a time when bilateral ties are at a fresh low since the formation of a caretaker regime led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus following the ouster of former premier Sheikh Hasina last August.

Bangladesh's acting high commissioner Mohammad Nural Islam was summoned by the external affairs ministry to South Block at 2 pm and informed that India has "observed all protocols and agreements" between the two governments and the Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) while undertaking security measures at the border, including fencing, according to an official readout.

"India conveyed its expectation that all earlier understandings will be implemented by Bangladesh and that there will be a cooperative approach to combating cross-border crimes," the readout said.

The Indian side reiterated its commitment to "ensuring a crime-free border by effectively addressing the challenges of cross-border criminal activities, smuggling, movement of criminals and trafficking".

The readout described the barbed wire fencing, border lighting, and installation of technical devices and cattle fences as "measures for securing the border".