Bangladesh summons Indian envoy over border tensions

Bangladesh summons Indian High Commissioner over border tensions, expressing deep concern over recent activities along the border

Bangladesh’s foreign ministry on Sunday (January 12, 2025) summoned Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma over border tensions.

In an official press release Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka, Foreign Secretary Ambassador Md. Jashim Uddin said the Government of Bangladesh had “deep concern“ over the recent activities of the Border Security Force (BSF) of India along the Bangladesh-India Border, to the High Commissioner of India H.E. Pranay Verma at his office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The development came hours after Dhaka alleged that India was trying to construct fences at five locations along the Indo-Bangla border, in violation of a bilateral agreement.

He said, “Such activities particularly the unauthorised attempt to construct barbed wire fencing and the related operational actions by BSF, have caused tensions and disturbances along the border.” He emphasised that the construction of barbed wire fences without proper authorisation undermines the spirit of cooperation and friendly relations between the two neighbouring countries. He hoped that the upcoming BGB-BSF DG Level Talks would be able to discuss the matter at length.

Referring to the recent killing of a Bangladesh citizen at Sunamganj by BSF, the Foreign Secretary said the Bangladesh Government strongly resented these acts of killing and called for urgent action by the Indian authorities to stop the recurrence of such incidents and conduct enquiries into all these border killings and take actions against those responsible. He mentioned that it is also a matter of grave concern that despite repeated firm commitments from the Indian authorities to pursue a non-lethal strategy and to stop killings, such incidents of killing have been continuing.

He also called upon the Government of India to advise all concerned authorities in India to refrain from any provocative actions that could escalate tensions along the shared border.

Mr. Uddin also said, “Bangladesh believes that such issues should be resolved through constructive dialogue, in accordance with existing bilateral agreements, and in a way that upholds peace and tranquillity along the border.”

Mr. Verma was seen entering the ministry around 3:00 p.m. His meeting with foreign secretary Jashim Uddin lasted approximately 45 minutes.

While no official statement was released by the interim government regarding the discussions, officials confirmed that the envoy has been summoned.

(with inputs from PTI)

Published - January 12, 2025 06:46 pm IST