BGB-BSF border conference set to begin on Jun 8

Director general of the BGB will lead a 15-member delegation at the summit

Amid rising tensions along the Bangladesh–India border, including reported push-back attempts and recent friction in West Bengal, the border forces of the two countries are set to meet for high-level talks next month.

The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and India’s Border Security Force (BSF) are going to sit for the 57th director general-level border conference on Jun 8, the BGB said on Monday.

The conference will be held in New Delhi until 11.

BGB Director General Maj Gen Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui will lead a 15-member delegation at the event.

Relevant officials from the Prime Minister's Office, the home, foreign, and shipping ministries, the Land Record and Survey Department, and the Joint Rivers Commission will be included in the representing team.

Several videos recently spread on social media showing the BSF retreating under pressure from the BGB while attempting to construct structures in the border areas.

Moreover, media reports have emerged stating that people have been gathering for the past few days at the Hakimpur border in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, to enter Bangladesh.

The development comes following West Bengal’s decision to deport alleged undocumented Bangladeshis.

In this conference, attempts of push-backs through the border, barbed-wire fencing, and India's attempts to construct structures in no man's land will receive the highest priority, a BGB official said.

“The issues of narcotics, weapons smuggling, and border killings will also be raised in the discussions.”