During the one-day foreign office consultation (FOC) with India today, Bangladesh’s foreign secretary Mohammad Jashim Uddin stated that Dhaka anticipated New Delhi’s active cooperation in stopping the “negative campaign” in India in order to foster confidence between the two nations’ citizens.
“We drew their (India’s) attention and sought appropriate steps regarding dissemination of misleading and false information in Indian media about Bangladesh’s July-August revolution and alleged hostile attitude to the minority communities here in the post-revolution period,” he said.
According to Jashim Uddin, Dhaka firmly declared that all religious adherents in Bangladesh were carrying out their rites without interference and that there was no room for propaganda on the subject. The interim administration also urged international media to observe the situation on the ground.
“At the same time, we said no country is expected to interfere in the internal affair of ours and reminded (India) that Bangladesh refrains from commenting on internal affairs of other countries and they should as well show the identical respect for us”, he said.
Jashim Uddin’s remarks were clearly directed at India’s recent declarations following the arrest and refusal of bail of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das, protests across India, and an assault on the Bangladeshi embassy in Agartala.
According to the foreign secretary, “zero killing” along India’s borders is a top priority because “one life is too many” and every life is precious.
“We have requested Indian government to take visible and effective steps towards that end,” he added.
Being the nearest neighbour of Bangladesh, Jashim Uddin said that the relationship with India was “historic” and that both parties decided to continue it in a “free, frank, and candid” dialogue.
According to him, Dhaka wants all “unsettled issues” with India resolved as soon as possible and asked for their support, stating that they would like to cooperate in this respect.
The statement claims that when Bangladesh emphasised the signing of the Teesta water sharing agreement and the renewal of the Ganges Water Treaty, which was set to expire in 2026, the concerns of common rivers were given additional attention at the FOC.
According to the statement, Dhaka also wanted treaties over other shared rivers finalised and anticipated India’s assistance in exchanging flood warning information and managing floods.
“India is one of our biggest trade partners. We have stressed removal of existing tariff and non-tariff barriers. We have requested them for undisrupted supply of essential commodities from India,” the foreign secretary said.
Jashim Uddin said his counterpart invited him to join the next FOC in New Delhi in a mutually convenient time.
*
Email *
Website
