Indo-Bangla ties dip, salvage bid with pursed lips

Amidst a serious deterioration in bilateral ties, Bangladesh foreign minister Manzur Morshed Khan is likely to visit New Delhi soon to show that Dhaka has the ‘‘manifest political will’’ to open a new chapter in the relationship.

Although dates for the visit are still being worked out by both sides, a visit by the foreign minister would ‘‘signal Dhaka’s political intent’’ to let bygones be bygones, highly-placed sources here said.

In Kolkata today on a brief visit, Khan told reporters that Bangladesh wanted peaceful relations with India and the border row could be resolved through discussions. He even called for a joint initiative with India in fighting terrorism.

Meanwhile, the ministry of external affairs and the Bangladesh high commission in New Delhi exchanged aide memoires or diplomatic notes today over Dhaka’s accusation that India had been ‘‘pushing in’’ Bengali Indian Muslims into its territory over the past few days.

While New Delhi has told Dhaka that the BSF had not been given any instructions to ‘‘push in’’ people but only prevent ‘‘infiltration’’ into India from Bangladesh, Dhaka insists the situation on the ground is far more serious.

At a weekly press briefing in Dhaka yesterday, Bangladesh foreign secretary Shamsher Mobin Choudhary threatened to show the BSF build-up all along the Bangladesh border to foreign diplomats.

But with Indian deputy high commissioner in Dhaka Dilip Sinha rejecting the ‘‘push in’’charge, it seemed as if the meeting of a joint working group (JWG) on border management in Dhaka about 10 days ago had never happened.

At the JWG, both sides had not only agreed to use different euphemisms for the problem — Bangladesh would call them ‘‘illegal entrants’’ while India would call them ‘‘infiltrators’’ but had even promised they would mutually evolve a method for verification.

But before they could give themselves a chance, as many as 30 attempts by India to ‘‘push in’’ people into Bangladesh had taken place in the past few days, Mobin Choudhary said, adding, ‘‘If the border problem persists, diplomats may be taken to see for themselves the situation on the ground.’’

In fact, the BSF and BDR were once again ranged against each other since this morning at Satgachi border outpost in Cooch Behar district after 213 Bangladeshis were forced to enter India at gunpoint but were stopped by the BSF on Indian territory.

Alarmed by the deadlock over this issue, Additonal DIG, BSF, North Bengal frontier, P P Gupta, is said to have rushed to the spot.

Despite the growing tension, though, the first signs of a light at the end of the dark, diplomatic tunnel could be seen today.

Highly-placed sources here confirmed that both sides had agreed that ‘‘manifest political will’’ was required to arrest the serious deterioration in the bilateral relationship over the past few months.

Moreover, a high-level political visit would also give a fillip to the official-level meetings expected over the next few months between the two countries — between ministries of shipping, commerce and the foreign office — and provide impetus for the Joint Commission that will take place in the middle of the year.

The crisis of the ‘‘push-ins’’, both sides acknowledge, is a manifestation of the bad blood that has grown in the past year, with New Delhi seeing Bangladesh as a veritable fifth column for the Pakistanis.

Barely a couple of months ago, External Affairs minister Yashwant Sinha accused Dhaka of being a ‘‘nerve centre’’ for Pakistani terrorists. More recently, Home Minister L K Advani publicly insisted that the thousands of Bangladeshi ‘‘infiltrators’’ would have to be thrown out because of the strain they put on national resources.