Home minister must withdraw remarks on border killings: Nahid

Convener of the National Citizen Party (NCP) and Opposition Chief Whip Md Nahid Islam has described the recent remarks made by Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed about "indiscriminate killings" by Indian forces along the border as "deeply objectionable" and "humiliating," and demanded their immediate withdrawal.

"To hear such remarks from a responsible state figure is a matter of profound national shame," he said in a statement posted on his Facebook page last night.

Nahid said even after four days, Salahuddin Ahmed has neither withdrawn nor clarified his remarks, while no official condemnation has been issued by the government. "Therefore, we are compelled to assume that the remarks reflect the government's position on border killings," he said.

Criticising the interpretation of border-related deaths, the NCP leader said the home minister attempted to downplay the crisis by narrowing the definition of border killings, arguing the term applies exclusively to fatalities occurring directly at the zero line.

"He asserted that individuals involved in cross-border crimes or illegal trespass fall entirely under the domestic jurisdiction of the respective nation's law enforcement. By this logic, he claimed it is improper to classify these fatalities as border killings."

However, international legal frameworks, including United Nations human rights principles and the Geneva Conventions, strictly prohibit unlawful shootings, torture, or brutal treatment of unarmed civilians, he said.

"The Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols explicitly forbid violence against civilian populations, even during war or armed conflict. Furthermore, UN principles governing law enforcement dictate that security forces may use only necessary and proportionate force. Any excessive or indiscriminate use of lethal force constitutes a direct violation of international law," Nahid said.

Referring to the similar comments made by then Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen in 2020, which sparked similar outrage, he said, "Momen's subservient stance toward India is widely recognised. This compliance ultimately relegated that regime to the dustbin of history. Against this backdrop, the compromising rhetoric from the home minister of the post-revolution government raises serious concerns."

On June 2, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said killings of individuals who are involved in crime or illegal intrusion by any border force within its own territory cannot be labelled as "border killing."

"If any foreign force kills someone by entering our border or at the zero line, then it can be called border killing. But if someone is involved in any sort of crime within our borders and their borders, or if someone commits illegal trespassing, then they (border forces) will address the issue as per their own local laws. In such cases, it should not be called border killing," he had said.