India-Bangladesh to fight terror jointly: Indian envoy

Agartala: India-Bangladesh will fight against terrorism jointly, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Harsh Vardhan Shringla said here on Monday.
“Not just as a mere partner of each other, India-Bangladesh would fight against terrorism jointly. Both the countries resolved to do so during the Home Minister level meeting in New Delhi in July,” Shringla told reporters here.
He said: “The Home Ministers of India and Bangladesh during their last meeting in New Delhi in July had decided to curb terrorism jointly for the betterment of the two neighbours.”
The Indian envoy said that the Bangladesh security forces have done well in dealing with the situation and arresting the terrorists after the deadliest terror attack in Dhaka on July 1 that killed 20 hostages, mostly foreigners, at an upscale restaurant in the heart of the capital’s diplomatic zone.
“Bangladesh security forces more or less were successful in unearthing the blueprint of the recent terror activities in their country.”
“We believe Bangladesh would be successful in flushing out terror activities and the threat from that country,” he added.
After joining as Indian High Commissioner in Bangladesh in January, 2016, Shringla came here on Monday on a four-day maiden visit to Tripura, which shares a 856-km border with Bangladesh.
The visiting envoy is scheduled to meet Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, Chief Secretary Yashpal Singh and other officials and dignitaries and discuss India-Bangladesh issues.
About the Bangladesh government’s announcement that foreign diplomats would be given bulletproof protection, Shringla said: “We are better protected in Bangladesh now than earlier.”
“We believe that the situation would further improve in the days to come.”
“After the implementation of pending and ongoing India-Bangladesh projects, the relations between the two countries would improve more.”
The pending projects include railway connectivity between Agartala railway station and Bangladesh railway junction at Akhaura, construction of a bridge in southern Tripura over river Feni to connect northeastern states to the Chittagong international seaport and extension of Bangladeshi highways linking northeastern states.
“If the multi-sectoral connectivities between Bangladesh and India were established, both the countries would get twin benefits — boosting of trade and economy and people to people close contact,” the High Commissioner added.
Five Indian states — West Bengal (2216 km), Tripura (856 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Mizoram (318 km) and Assam (263 km) — share a 4,096-km border with Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, in the midst of uncertainty over repatriation of 35,000 Bru inmates from North Tripura to their homeland Mizoram, a leading co-operative society of Kanchanpur claiming ownership of land has served notice to the administration asking to vacate the land given to Bru refugees in 1997 for their rehabilitation. (Agencies)