Admitting that the problem of illegal migration exists, visiting Bangladesh Foreign Minister M. Morshed Khan has agreed that Dhaka will return to a 1992 bilateral document that not only recognises the problem but also suggests mechanisms to deal with it.But at a breakfast meeting with journalists, Khan dismissed all suggestions that Bangladesh was sheltering anti-India insurgents or that they were being trained in camps, especially along the North-East border. WB blames neighbour; Assam for sealed border KOLKATA/ GUWAHATI: In an obvious reference to Bangladesh, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya on Saturday said that fundamentalist and terrorist organisations operating from ‘‘our neighbouring country’’ were responsible for the soaring crime graph in the state. Bhattacharya was speaking at the annual combined parade of West Bengal Police and Kolkata Police. Meanwhile, Assam resolved to adopt measures for sealing the Indo-Bangla border to prevent further infiltration during the tripartite talks on the implementation of Assam Accord. The meeting among State and Central governments and All Assam Students’ Union representatives also decided to beef up security along the international border. Union Home Ministry Joint Secretary R.C. Jain had announced at the meeting held on Friday that the Central Government accepts the problem of illegal Bangladeshi migrants in Assam as a national problem. (Agencies) ‘‘Nothing has been found. My helicopter blade is rotating, ready for investigations. We have searched and re-searched the country but couldn’t find anything,’’ Khan said, adding, that Dhaka will soon organise trips for all heads of diplomatic missions to show the hollowness of India’s claims.He repeated that Dhaka has received a number of ‘‘lists’’ on insurgent training camps in Bangladesh from New Delhi over the years and these have been investigated. But nothing has been found, he added.The Indian side handed over yet another copy of the list to Bangladesh, detailing 99 insurgency training camps and 88 terrorists taking shelter in that country.In his talks with the External Affairs Minister yesterday, Khan had gone back on his own statement on illegal migration last year and conceded that the problem did exist. Accepting that the Khaleda Zia Government had acknowledged the issue in 1992, this figure may now become an informal cut-off date from where to proceed by both sides.‘‘We have agreed not to hide the realities on the ground.for peace at home we must work with our neighbours. You can divorce a wife or a husband, but you cannot divorce a neighbour,’’ Khan said.At the breakfast table, he seemed eager to cast aside bygones, pointing that Bangladesh not only ‘‘fondly remembered’’ India’s contribution at the 1971 war, but that till 1947 the subcontinent was ‘‘a common market with a common currency’’.The relationship, he added, was not a ‘‘one-day match, but a series of test matches that was constantly evolving’’.Asked about India’s accusation that Dhaka was sheltering ISI agents, Khan tried to inject some humour into the situation. ‘‘Is there ISI in Bangladesh? Of course. Is there ISI in India? Must be 20 times more. Is there R&AW in Bangladesh? Of course. Is there R&AW in Pakistan? Must be 20 times more. Fact is, we are not harbouring the ISI, we don’t have a technical cooperation agreement with it,’’ Khan said.
