Dhaka-New Delhi bonhomie to touch new high
MANAN KUMAR | Sun, 16 Oct 2016-08:15am , dna
India may allow Bangladesh Border Guards to build border outpost on Indian soil
In a first of its kind, cross-border cooperation, India is planning to allow Bangladesh to build its Border Outposts (BOPs) manned by Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) on the Indian side to help restrict the movement of insurgents groups.
The idea came up when BGB said that it was very difficult for its personnel to watch and detect movement because of the dense foliage on their side of the International Border (IB), and they could do well if they are facilitated by India to build their BOPs on the Indian side that has clearing and good embankment roads.
Later, it was discussed at the DG level between Border Security Force (BSF) and BGB, and then between the home ministers of the two countries, and given in principle approval.
"The proposal is at an advance stage with the union home ministry and likely to be cleared soon. If cleared it will be the first of its kind border cooperation between two countries in the world. It shows the kind of confidence level the two countries enjoys with each other."
"It will prove highly effective to control the movement of insurgent groups and smuggling cartels from Bangladesh side through the forested area, especially along the Chittagong hill tracts,"said highly placed sources.
Once cleared at the highest level, as it involves tinkering with the international border, the BSF is likely to facilitate BGB in Tripura, Mizoram and Assam that sit on the Chittagong hill tracts (CHT) and some forested patches along the border in West Bengal, and Meghalaya also to build their BOPs on the Indian side.
The first such BOPs of BGB may come up along the international borders in Tripura and Mizoram, and depending on their efficacy in other northeastern states.
After committing terrorist acts, most northeast insurgent groups use CHT route to cross over to Bangladesh and then Myanmar to escape Indian security forces. Many of the insurgent groups have also established camps in CHT.
The Chittagong hill tracts in Bangladesh covering an area of 5,093 sq. miles, touch boundaries with Indian states of Tripura in north, and Mizoram on the east, and Arakan state of Myanmar on south and east, and provides an ideal base for anti-India insurgent groups like ULFA (United Liberation Front of Asom), PLA, UNLF and PREPAK and KYKL etc. India fears that here, they could obtain support from the JMB and other Bangladesh terror groups to launch terror attacks in India.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-dhaka-new-delhi-bonhomie-to-touch-new-high-2264545