Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Raises Concerns Over Border Tensions with Indian Envoy

BANGLADESH: Bangladesh’s Foreign Secretary, Md. Jashim Uddin, expressed the country’s “deep concern” regarding recent border tensions during a meeting with Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday. While the state-run BSS news agency initially reported that Verma had been “summoned” by the foreign ministry to address escalating border tensions, the official statement from the ministry did not use the term “summoned.”

In the press release, the ministry stated, “Foreign Secretary Ambassador Md. Jashim Uddin today conveyed the Government of Bangladesh’s deep concerns to High Commissioner Pranay Verma over the recent activities of the Border Security Force (BSF) along the Bangladesh-India border.”

Afterward, Verma addressed the media, emphasizing India’s commitment to maintaining a crime-free border and addressing issues such as smuggling, criminal movement, and trafficking. He reiterated India’s understanding with Bangladesh regarding border fencing and the communication between the BSF and Bangladesh’s Border Guard (BGB) on this matter.

The meeting comes in the wake of allegations by Dhaka that India was attempting to construct fences at five locations along the Indo-Bangla border, which Bangladesh claims violates a bilateral agreement. The foreign secretary expressed concerns over the unauthorized construction of barbed wire fences and actions by the BSF, which, according to the statement, have caused tensions along the border.

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