Staff Reporter:
Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain said that India should end border killings along the Bangladesh frontier, citing such killing have “significantly negative impact” on bilateral relations between Dhaka and New Delhi.
“These border killings are not beneficial for India. They should be stopped in the interest of both coun-tries,” Touhid told reporters at foreign ministry office yesterday.
Touhid noted that Bangladesh has made its language of protests to India tougher over the recent border killings, condemning the incidents and demanding justice.
Bangladesh government had previously called on India to halt such heinous acts, investigate all border killings, identify those responsible, and hold them accountable.
“We have condemned these acts and demanded justice,” Hossain said.
Responding to a question the adviser said Dhaka is yet to receive any response from New Delhi regard-ing its protest note.
On September 1, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs lodged a formal protest with the Indian government over the killing of 13-year-old Bangladeshi girl, Shwarna Das at Juri upazila of Moulvibazar district, who was reportedly shot and killed by India’s Border Security Force (BSF).
In the protest note delivered to the Indian High Commission in Dhaka, Bangladesh strongly condemned the incident, expressing deep concern and stating that such killings are “undesirable and unwarranted.”
On Monday, BSF personnel reportedly shot and killed another Bangladeshi teenager and injured two others, including the teen’s father, along the Baliadangi border in Thakurgaon district.
Referring to Monday’s incident, Hossain said the foreign ministry yesterday sent a strong protest note like the previous one to the Indian High Commission in Dhaka, condemning the killing and demanding justice.
Meanwhile, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma met with newly appointed Foreign Secretary Jasim Uddin yesterday to discuss issues of mutual interests.
