The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has agreed to conduct joint training exercises on border management with India's Border Security Force (BSF).
“We have agreed to a BSF proposal on joint training and we wanted to know the modalities of training,” said BGB Director General (DG) Maj Gen Aziz Ahmed at a press conference at BGB headquarters in the capital on Tuesday afternoon.
The BSF proposal came during a five-day conference between the two border forces held in New Delhi from August 20-25. “The joint training will focus on bomb disposal, dog handling and border management at the officer and soldier levels,” the BGB director general said.
The BGB chief said joint exercises would take place in India and that the host country would facilitate the training and would explain its border management practices.
A team could be sent to India just before the next border conference scheduled for the third week of December which will be held in Dhaka, he added. DG-level border coordination conferences take place twice a year, once in India and once in Bangladesh.
BSF director general Shri Devendra Kumar Pathak, assured Bangladesh that a fair trial would take place in the Felani killing case.
The acquittal by a BSF General Security Forces court of Constable Amiya Ghosh who shot and killed a Bangladeshi minor as she was leaving Indian territory drew widespread criticism here and abroad. The BSF later decided to hold a revision trial.
Aziz Ahmed said: “About India's claims that there were [Indian] insurgent camps operating inside Bangladesh, we informed them that no such camps were found on our soil.”
Earlier, the BSF had given a list of insurgent camps to BGB.
“We searched for the camps according to the list, but we did not find anything,” the BGB DG said.
During the conference, India handed over another list of 71 insurgent camps allegedly set up in Bangladesh, Aziz said. “We will check the list and take necessary steps,” he said.
The head of the frontier force said Bangladesh does not allow terrorist groups to operate from its territory, nor would it do so in the future.
Bangladesh gave the Indian side a list of phensedyl manufacturing factories in India. BSF said phensedyl was used as a medicine in India, but made assurances that the smuggling of the drug would be tackled.
The BGB DG said since most border killings take place at night, the public should avoid going near the border at that time. Maj Gen Aziz said most border killing incidents were related to cattle smuggling.
Quoting the BSF, the Bangladeshi paramilitary chief said India does not use non-lethal weapons.
Both directors general emphasised the proper implementation of the Coordinated Border Management Plan (CBMP) to tackle trans-border crimes including the smuggling of cattle, gold, fake currency notes and drugs.
The two sides said they would arrange joint visits to smuggling-prone areas twice a year and would increase surveillance in the areas.
The two forces agreed to expedite the exchange of intelligence to tackle border crimes.
Lauding the cooperation of the BGB in taking steps against Indian insurgents and terrorist groups, BSF director general sought more cooperation, and also sought the repatriation of detained and abducted Indian nationals.