BGB, BSF agree to bring down border killings to zero

The 54th director general (DG) level border conference between Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Indian Border Security Force (BSF) ended at BGB headquarters in the city on Saturday (March 9).

At the conference, both sides have agreed to bring down the killing of unarmed Bangladeshi nationals in the border areas to zero by taking effective steps, including enhancing joint patrolling.

BSF Director General (DG) Nitin Agrawal led the 9-member Indian delegation while DG of BGB Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui led the 16-member delegation.

The border conference, which started on March 5, ended with the signing of the Joint Record of Discussion (JRD) document. Later, a joint press statement was read out in the press conference,

BGB Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui urged DG BSF Shri Nitin Agrawal to adopt necessary measures to reduce the border killing to zero considering the sound bilateral relation existing between Bangladesh and India. 

Beside this cardinal concern, DG of BGB also expressed his optimism to curb various types of trans-border crimes like smuggling, human trafficking, inadvertent border crossing and any kind of terrorist activities, as well as time bound concurrence in regards to development works including river bank protection works, increase of border haats and completion of stalled ICP/LCP related projects etc. 

Expressing satisfaction over the coordinated efforts of BSF and BGB in maintaining peace and tranquility along the border, both stressed the need for effective implementation of Coordinated Border Management Plan (CBMP). 

The two sides agreed to bring down the killing/injuring unarmed Bangladeshi nationals to zero by enhancing joint patrolling, vigilance, intensifying public awareness program, undertaking appropriate socio-economic development programs, educating border population about the sanctity of the international border (IB) and preventing criminals/inhabitants from crossing the IB and sharing of real time information.

Both sides agreed to take effective steps to continue to sensitize the border populace to refrain from Violation of IB/Illegal crossing/Intrusion, smuggling, human trafficking, uprooting Border Pillars and other trans-border crimes. As a whole, both sides assured to maintain the desired sanctity of the border.