Concern of Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK)

Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) expresses grave concern over the incident of nineteen Bangladeshis being injured from BSF firing at Jaintapur border in Sylhet on 14 March 2010.

From the newspaper sources, we came to know that the skirmish started on 14 March with the incident of catching fish at Dibir Haor in Jaintapur border. At this point hurling stones, chasing each other and clashes arose between Bangladeshis and Indian Khasias. At one stage, nineteen Bangladeshis received injuries from  BSF firing. On 11 March 2010, the Indian frontier force assured their Bangladesh counterpart of no more shooting at the civilians in the border areas. They also affirmed that they will not enter the disputed Bangladesh territory. The assurance came when Directors General of the two forces sat in a five day meeting in New Delhi. It is regrettable that such incident took place just after three days of the meeting. We expect much more responsible role from the BSF regarding such matters.

Frequent happenings of incidents charged with such high degree of tension in the border area do not give a positive signal as to the relationship between the two countries. We believe, the two countries should finalize the demarcation process without delay. We also believe that the International Law should be followed and implemented in this regard.