‘Pakistan-Bangladesh Link Cannot Be Ruled Out,’ Says Lahkmen Rymbui, Urges Border Vigilance

CORRESPONDENT

SHILLONG: Amid heightened tensions along the Kashmir border, former Meghalaya Home Minister and United Democratic Party (UDP) legislator Lahkmen Rymbui has called for intensified vigilance along the India-Bangladesh frontier while pointing to a possible nexus involving Pakistan and Bangladesh in recent militant activity.

Representing the Amlarem constituency in West Jaintia Hills—an area sharing a border with Bangladesh—Rymbui commended the Centre’s counter-terrorism measures. “I will congratulate the Prime Minister and the Army for a decisive action which they take in this war against terrorism because terrorism has no caste, no religion. I’m very thankful to the Army and the Government of India for taking this decisive decision that no matter what—whoever wants to disturb the peace and tranquillity, moreover to take the life of innocent Indians—they have to be brought to justice, wherever they are,” he said.

Referring to the recent attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, Rymbui outlined a chain of developments he believes merit closer scrutiny. “First of all, we have to recall that before what happened in Pahalgam, the Army Chief of Pakistan made a statement against the Hindus. Just after that, the foreign minister of Pakistan visited Bangladesh. And after that, this incident in J&K happened where innocent life was lost. So there is an interlink—I cannot rule out that there is no link at all. There is an internet link,” he remarked.

Asked whether Pakistan, Bangladesh, and China were acting in coordination, the former minister was cautious but pointed to a discernible pattern. “We cannot say that there are links, but if you connect the dots—from the statement of the Army Chief of Pakistan to the visit of the Foreign Minister of Pakistan to Bangladesh, and then the incident which happened in Pahalgam—you could draw some sort of conclusion that some dot is connecting.”

Calling for active civic vigilance, especially in sensitive border districts, he said, “It is the duty of each and every citizen to be very vigilant. The law-enforcing authorities and the citizens of the border areas—more importantly, the border areas—should be very vigilant so that any untoward incident could be prevented, and Meghalaya, the Northeast, and India as a whole remain secure.”

On the contentious issue of border fencing, Rymbui acknowledged logistical and livelihood-related constraints but stressed the need for a comprehensive approach. “It is not the question of only fencing; it is the question of vigilance. We have many BSF outposts; we have many police offices. More importantly, in this time of crisis, the Village Defence Party also should be activated, especially in the border areas, to see if there is any suspicious person intruding into our borders with ill intentions.”

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