{"id":13149,"date":"2025-01-13T04:56:31","date_gmt":"2025-01-13T04:56:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=13149"},"modified":"2025-01-13T04:56:32","modified_gmt":"2025-01-13T04:56:32","slug":"bangladesh-expresses-deep-concern-over-unauthorised-indian-border-fencing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=13149","title":{"rendered":"Bangladesh Expresses \u2018Deep Concern\u2019 Over ‘Unauthorised’ Indian Border Fencing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

According to the Daily Star, the Border Guard Bangladesh stated that the fencing initiated on Friday, January 10, along the Dahagram border violated international law, which prohibits any construction within 150 yards of the zero line.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A day after Bangladesh halted the construction of a barbed wire fence along the border, Dhaka on Sunday, January 12, expressed \u201cdeep concern\u201d to Indian high commissioner Pranay Verma, alleging that the work was being carried out without proper authorisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Indian envoy was summoned following protests by Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) officials a day earlier, which led the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) to suspend the fencing activity near the Dahagram border in Lalmonirhat\u2019s Patgram district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a press release, the Bangladesh foreign ministry stated that foreign secretary Md Jashim Uddin conveyed \u201cdeep concern\u201d to high commissioner Verma \u201cover the recent activities of the Border Security Force (BSF) of India along the Bangladesh-India border.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe stressed that such activities, particularly the unauthorized attempt to construct barbed wire fencing and related operational actions by the BSF, have caused tensions and disturbances along the border,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The note further highlighted that Jashim Uddin underscored how the \u201cconstruction of barbed wire fences without proper authorisation undermines the spirit of cooperation and friendly relations between the two neighbouring countries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe hoped that the upcoming BGB-BSF DG Level Talks would provide an opportunity to discuss the matter in detail,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bangladesh foreign secretary also raised concerns about the killing of a Bangladeshi citizen, allegedly by the BSF in Sunamganj, describing it as a \u201cmatter of grave concern.\u201d He noted that despite repeated commitments from Indian authorities to adopt a non-lethal strategy and prevent such incidents, the killings had continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the 30-minute meeting at the foreign ministry on Sunday afternoon, high commissioner Verma told reporters<\/a> that he had discussed \u201cIndia\u2019s commitment to ensuring a crime-free border and effectively addressing the challenges\u201d with Bangladesh\u2019s foreign secretary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Verma reiterated that the two border forces had an \u201cunderstanding\u201d regarding border fencing and maintained regular communication. He also highlighted efforts to tackle smuggling challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fencing along the north-eastern border has been a key security priority for the Narendra Modi government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alleged violation of international law<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Daily Star<\/em><\/a>, the BGB stated that the fencing initiated on Friday, January 10, along the Dahagram border violated international law, which prohibits any construction within 150 yards of the zero line. Amir Khasru, assistant director of the Rangpur battalion of the BGB, said that the BSF halted the construction after BGB officers and local residents protested at the site, leading to tensions between the two border agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Khasru also informed reporters that a scheduled meeting and inspection visit to the Munshipara area between officers of both agencies was cancelled as the BSF representatives did not attend. However, the BSF later assured the BGB that it would cease further barbed wire fencing efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLocals are aware of the matter, and we will strongly protest if the BSF tries to violate the law,\u201d said Khabir Uddin, a 65-year-old farmer from Munshipara to the Daily Star.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2010, the BGB and BSF signed an agreement prohibiting barbed wire construction at the Tin Bigha Corridor, the gateway to Dahagram. In 2021, the BSF opposed the laying of optical fibre lines for broadband services in the corridor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Criticism of Sheikh Hasina government\u2019s policies<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a press briefing on Sunday, Bangladesh\u2019s home affairs adviser, retired Lieutenant General Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, acknowledged the border tensions<\/a> and confirmed a truce after the BSF stopped its work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese agreements stipulate that no defence-related construction or development work can be carried out within 150 yards of the zero line without mutual consent,\u201d he said, adding that India has already fenced 3,271 kms out of the 4,156-km border shared with Bangladesh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chowdhury criticised the previous Sheikh Hasina government for allowing India to undertake certain border activities that, he claimed, were against Bangladesh\u2019s interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom 2010 to 2023, India constructed fences in 160 locations, creating complications. Another 78 spots also face issues and recently, disputes have arisen at five locations, including Chapainawabganj, the Tin Bigha Corridor in Lalmonirhat, Patnitala in Naogaon, Feni, Kushtia and Cumilla,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reference Link:- https:\/\/thewire.in\/diplomacy\/bangladesh-india-border-fencing<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to the Daily Star, the Border Guard Bangladesh stated that the fencing initiated on Friday, January 10, along the Dahagram border violated international law, which prohibits any construction within 150 yards of the zero line. A day after Bangladesh halted the construction of a barbed wire fence along the border, Dhaka on Sunday, January […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13150,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[189,10154,10157,10155,10150,10152,39,10153,10156,36,10151,60],"class_list":["post-13149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sample-category","tag-bangladesh","tag-bangladesh-expresses-deep-concern-over-unauthorised-indian-border-fencing","tag-barbec-wire","tag-border-guard","tag-deep-concerns","tag-ilegal-fence","tag-india","tag-indian-act-of-ilegitimate-fencing","tag-international-law","tag-pakistan","tag-unathorised-fencing","tag-geopolitics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13149"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13151,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13149\/revisions\/13151"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}