No border killing in six months: Pankaj Dhaka, June 12 (UNB) – Though killings along the border are still on, Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Pankaj Saran on Wednesday said there had been no border killing over the last six months. “I knew that there had been no border killing over the last six months. But if something happened yesterday or today, we regret. Definitely, I’ll check it out. To be honest, I’m not aware of this (today’s killings). This shouldn’t have happened,” the Indian envoy told a meet-the-press programme at the National Press Club. Every death along the border is regrettable and each incident is being investigated, he said adding that the number of overall border killings has drastically dropped in recent days. When his attention was drawn to the border killings that took place in April and May this year, Pankaj Saran said, “Let me go back and I’ll check it out. We always check out why it happened.” Two Bangladeshi cattle traders were shot dead and two others injured by Indian Border Security Force (BSF) on Patuatkhali border under Benapole Police Station of Jessore early Wednesday. National Press Club President Kamal Uddin Sabuj, General Secretary Abdal Ahmed and Vice President Rownak Jahan were also present. He said it is the joint responsibility of Bangladesh and India to address the disputes over cattle smuggling, Phensidyl and other illegal activities along the border. “We can’t solve (border) problems alone. You also have a role to play.” Pankaj Saran said managing the huge and longest border is a big challenge. “It’s a huge task to manage the border.” On unsettled Teesta Water Sharing agreement and ratification of the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) by the Indian parliament, the Indian envoy said, “There’s a feeling that India has achieved more in relations with Bangladesh…this is a relationship in which both sides are gaining.” Pankaj said it is true that it has been taken decades for them to reach a situation where they signed the LBA protocol in 2011 after 1974. “We both Bangladesh and India have wasted times…Indian government is committed to ratifying it through passing it in Parliament.” He said the LBA was supposed to be passed in the last parliament session but it could not happen. “The ratification is very important. We’ll continue to move this forward.” He laid emphasis on maximising gains without harming each other. “We can maximise our gains without harming each other. Let’s work together. We need to maximise our gains. This is a universal proposition. There’s a lot of thing that we can do together.” The Indian envoy said Bangladesh and India are facing the common challenges and it is high time to fight together to overcome those challenges. On Teesta issue, he said efforts are on in this regard since both governments have agreed on it. “Water flow in the Teesta remains unchanged and continued to flow to Bangladesh as before without any hindrance. There has been no change in water flows coming into Bangladesh.” “We’re committed to entering into an agreement and we’re in touch with all the stakeholders so that we can develop a consensus to make sure we’ve an agreement,” he added. Pankaj Saran also said the Indian Water Resources Minister is coming here next week to attend the 38th Joint River Commission meeting in Dhaka. “The meeting has a vast agenda. Teesta will be one of that.” Responding to a question regarding Bangladesh Prime Minister’s visit to India in September and possible signing of the much-talked-about Teesta deal, Pankaj Saran the date of the visit is still under discussion.” Asked whether the BNP chief will also be invited to India before election, he said there is no progress on that matter, and India will welcome Khaleda if she wishes to visit India. Asked whether the good relations between India and Bangladesh will be maintained if BNP returns to power, he apparently replied in the negative said they maintain relations with Bangladesh government elected by Bangladeshis people. He said the cooperation between neighbouring countries like Bangladesh and India does not mean the loss of sovereignty. “When we cooperate on a certain set of issues, it doesn’t follow that via this cooperation, we somehow sacrifice our sovereignty,” he said. “India respects the sovereignty, the territorial integrity and the independence of Bangladesh. I’m sure you also respect India,” he added. The Indian High Commissioner further said both Bangladesh and India are here to stay and no one of the countries is going anywhere. “So, we’ve to learn to work together to solve our problems together, and we have to cooperate together.” Pankaj mentioned that both Bangladesh and India can benefit from working together to maximise gains if this is done through a cooperative approach to problem solving. “Within this framework, I believe there’re a lot we can do together,” he added. On visa regime simplification, the Indian High Commissioner said it will facilitate easier and greater contacts. “Businesses, teachers, students and tourists will be benefited.” Pankaj saran said India and Bangladesh are on the right track and they are progressing though they do not find the same degree of successes always and mentioned that the new generation of Bangladesh and India are shaping the new destinies of their countries. Emphasising the important role of media and public opinion, he said, “We regard media is a very important stakeholders in our relations. We respect the views that are expressed. Public opinion is also important. Therefore, we have to be transparent in all our all dealings.” He admitted that India benefited financially as there is no insurgency in the Indian northeast states and said neither Bangladesh nor India will remain untouched if there is insurgency and uncertainty any part of the two countries. Pankaj also expressed his thoughts on Bangladesh-India relations under six broad areas – political and security cooperation, trade and investment, development cooperation, sharing of resources, regional and sub regional cooperation and people to people exchanges. About border haats, he said India has got two border haats, and both the countries have agreed to have more along the border. He said there is progress in importing electricity from India and said the line will be installed by the next two months. Pankaj Saran said Bangladesh’s export saw a rise following duty- and quota-free access of Bangladeshi products in the Indian market. “More businesses are looking at India, some of them are very aggressive,” he said. Identifying infrastructure weaknesses, this is causing high transportation cost and laid emphaisis on development of land ports.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:52:04 +0000
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