India has summoned Bangladesh’s Deputy High Commissioner, Nurul Islam, to the Ministry of External Affairs in response to ongoing tensions regarding the border issue. This follows a similar move by Bangladesh, which summoned India's High Commissioner Pranay Verma on Sunday to discuss the same matter.
According to a report by Indian news agency Asianet on Monday (13 January), India had previously initiated plans to erect barbed wire fencing along its border to prevent illegal crossings, and has expressed hopes for cooperation from Bangladesh in this regard. Verma further noted that discussions also covered efforts to address smuggling and illegal immigration. Verma stated that both countries would work together to combat border crimes and illegal infiltration.
In a related development, Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, held a press conference at the Ministry of Home Affairs, emphasising that any potential issues would be communicated through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Indian High Commission to avoid further escalation.
He also added that during the previous government, India had been permitted to build fences in certain areas along the border. India has completed fencing work along 3,271 km of the 4,156 km-long border and plans to extend the fencing along the remaining 885 km of the boundary.
