Amid rising tensions along the Bangladesh-India border, including recent pushback attempts and friction in West Bengal, the border forces of both nations will hold high-level talks next month.
The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and India’s Border Security Force (BSF) will meet for their 57th Director General-level conference in New Delhi starting June 8, the BGB announced on Monday.
BGB Director General Maj Gen Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui will lead a 15-member delegation. The team will include officials from the Prime Minister's Office, the home, foreign, and shipping ministries, the Land Record and Survey Department, and the Joint Rivers Commission.
The conference comes amid heightened border friction. Recent social media videos purportedly show BSF personnel retreating under BGB pressure while attempting to build structures in disputed border areas. Additionally, media reports indicate that crowds have gathered at the Hakimpur border in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, allegedly driven by local moves to deport undocumented individuals into Bangladesh.
A senior BGB official stated that countering these pushback attempts, resolving disputes over barbed-wire fencing, and halting unauthorized Indian construction in no man's land will be the top priorities at the talks.
“The issues of narcotics, weapons smuggling, and border killings will also be raised prominently in the discussions,” the official added.
