Bangladesh’s home minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Wednesday told the parliament that India’s Border Security Force’s (BSF) actions on the frontiers allegedly leading to killings amounted to “clear violation of human rights”. Ahmed further said the issue was raised by Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) during the recently-concluded directors’ general-level talks with the BSF in the Indian capital.
"The killing of innocent Bangladeshi nationals by the BSF is extremely regrettable and constitutes a clear violation of human rights," he told the parliament, adding that Dhaka consistently protested the use of lethal weapons by the BSF along the border. India and Bangladesh on June 11 concluded their four-day Director General-level border talks in New Delhi. It covered issues including assault on BSF troops and Indian civilians by Bangladeshi nationals and the breaching of the frontier fence by Bangladeshis.
New Delhi has long maintained that shootings in the border by the BSF occur in self-defence and are the result of cross-border crimes such as smuggling, unauthorised entry and trafficking. India and Bangladesh share a 4,096-km-long border – with more than half falling in West Bengal. Ahmed on Wednesday said Bangladesh has repeatedly voiced strong objections during bilateral meetings to the BSF's practice of using lethal weapons under the pretext of self-defence, and exerted pressure regarding compensation and accountability for such incidents. He further said the incidents of killings of Bangladeshis continued despite repeated BSF assurances to refrain from using lethal weapons and instead employ non-lethal means in managing border situations.
Ahmed was also critical of India’s current “push-in” campaign on borders saying BGB prevented 36 BSF push-in attempts since the assembly elections in West Bengal. He said of the 2,369 people pushed into Bangladesh by the BSF since August 5, 2024, a total of 2,175 were handed over to relevant police stations, 11 were handed back to the BSF, and 183 were pushed back. Ahmed, however, said that cooperation between the BGB and BSF was strengthened to reduce border deaths and curb cross-border crimes, and night-time joint patrols were increased in vulnerable and sensitive areas to prevent untoward incidents. "Whenever any undesirable incident occurs along the border, local-level flag meetings between the respective (BSF-BGB) commanders are convened swiftly to bring the situation under control and prevent escalation," he said.
The minister’s comments came two days after Bangladesh’s foreign office summoned India's Deputy High Commissioner and conveyed its "deep disappointment" over an incident involving an adviser of the Prime Minister at the Delhi airport. Bangladesh said PM’s adviser for strategy and information Zahed Ur Rahman was stopped at the New Delhi's airport, where he had travelled for a conference, and questioned for over two hours and “although Indian authorities later allowed him to proceed with his visit, he decided to return home”.