Zakir Hossain from Dhaka
The 56th Director General (DG)-level border talks between India’s Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) began on Tuesday at the BGB headquarters in Pilkhana, Dhaka.
The four-day conference, concluding August 28, is being led by BSF DG Daljit Singh Chaudhary with a 11-member Indian team, while BGB DG Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui heads the 21-member Bangladeshi delegation.
Talks will centre on preventing border killings, push-ins, illegal infiltration, and smuggling of drugs, arms and other contraband. Other priorities include halting unauthorised construction within 150 yards of the border, preserving riverbanks, fair water-sharing of common rivers, and joint steps under the Integrated Border Management Plan. The agenda also covers Bangladesh’s concerns over “anti-Bangladesh propaganda in Indian media” and broader bilateral border issues.
The Bangladesh side includes officials from the Office of the Chief Adviser, Home, Foreign and Shipping ministries, Roads Division, Land Survey Department, Joint Rivers Commission, and Narcotics Control Department. The Indian team has senior BSF officials along with representatives from the Home and External Affairs Ministries and the Indian High Commission in Dhaka.
The last DG-level talks were held in Delhi in February. The Dhaka meeting continues the dialogue with BGB stressing “the country’s and the people’s interests.”