India-Bangladesh extradition treaty soon

ejazr

Ambassador
Joined
Oct 8, 2009
Messages
4,523
Likes
1,388
India-Bangladesh extradition treaty soon - Times Of India

NEW DELHI: India and Bangladesh will soon sign an extradition treaty with both the countries on Friday finalising the finer details of the agreement which will allow easy deportation of each other's terrorists/criminals without being trapped in lengthy legal process like the one witnessed by New Delhi in the case of Ulfa militant Anup Chetia.

Both the countries also discussed the mechanism to move towards a liberal visa regime which both New Delhi and Dhaka think would be a key step in minimizing the scope of illegal immigration from Bangladesh to India.

The matters were discussed during the home minister-level talks where Bangladeshi home minister Shahara Khatun said her country did not harbour any anti-India terrorist on its soil. At a joint press conference here with her counterpart P Chidambaram, Khatun said like India, her country too was a victim of terrorism and would do everything to eradicate the menace from its soil.

"Bangladesh will not tolerate any anti-India activity on its soil. We have not allowed in the past, nor will we do in the future. Both countries are victims of terrorism. So, there is no question of harbouring anyone," she said when asked about terrorists, who carried out heinous acts in India, having links with Bangladesh.

Asked when the extradition treaty between the two countries would be signed, Khatun said the issue was discussed threadbare at the meeting and hoped that it would be concluded in the "near future". Chidambaram said the extradition pact was in the final stages of consideration by the Bangladesh government and "I think it is moving forward".

Describing the bilateral meeting as extremely cordial and fruitful, Chidambaram said the India-Bangladesh relation has reached a new high. Asked about the problem of illegal migration from Bangladesh, Chidambaram said it was no longer a big issue as in 2011 India had given visas to 5 lakh Bangladeshi nationals to travel here and therefore there was no reason for any Bangladeshi to cross over illegally.

"But I do admit that some crossings take place. We have to strengthen the border management. We have identified the border outposts which are vulnerable and both sides will strengthen border management in these BoPs," he said.

Referring to Bangladesh's concern on firing by BSF along international border, Chidambaram said there was "dramatic decline" in such incidents in last few months and the government of India has taken steps to ensure that no such incident take place in future.

Khatun said she was satisfied with the prompt action taken by the Indian government in recent border incidents and hoped that New Delhi would be able to solve other issues related to border enclaves and hand over those persons who were involved in the assassination of Bangladesh's first premier Sheikh Mujibur Rehman and now allegedly hiding in India.

Chidambaram said Bangladesh had given the names of some persons who were believed to have been part of the conspiracy to assassinate Rehman some time ago and efforts were on to trace them.

"Efforts are being made by the government of West Bengal to trace them. If we trace those people, and if we identify those people, I think there are legal ways to send them to Bangladesh. Sending them to Bangladesh is not a problem. Problem is tracing them and identifying them," he said.

Times View
There has been a significant improvement in India's ties with Bangladesh in recent years and these agreements are a further confirmation of that trend. However, some ticklish issues like the sharing of Teesta waters and the proposed exchange of enclaves in each other's territory still remain. In international relations, as in international sport, momentum is a precious commodity. In the case of Indo-Bangladesh ties it is even more so, given how rarely there has been any momentum in the right direction. Both governments must ensure that this opportunity to cement the ties by getting over of the remaining issues is not lost. For the UPA that also means getting Mamata Banerjee on board, which could be difficult but the potential benefits are well worth the effort.
 

KS

Bye bye DFI
Senior Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2010
Messages
8,005
Likes
5,758
Oh my. The reaction by some Jamatis in 'you-know-where' to this would be priceless...:D
 

Latest Replies

Global Defence

New threads

Articles

Top