Home Minister Salahuddin urges India to prevent border killings
On visa services, the minister requested that Indian visa centres in Bangladesh be reopened.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed today (1 March) said he has urged Pranay Verma, Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh, to take necessary measures to ensure that incidents of ''border killings'' do not recur.
"I told him that we do not want to hear about any more border killings. The BGB and BSF should continue holding meetings on this issue and avoid such incidents as much as possible," the minister said while speaking to reporters at the Home Ministry following a meeting with the high commissioner at the Secretariat.
Salahuddin said the Indian side expressed sincerity and assured that relevant agencies would receive the necessary instructions.
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He described the high commissioner's visit as a courtesy call as part of ongoing diplomatic engagement following the formation of Bangladesh's new government.
"As neighbouring countries, we have trade and business relations with India. The High Commissioner also discussed security aspects," he added.
On visa services, the minister requested that Indian visa centres in Bangladesh be reopened and visa issuance increased.
The high commissioner explained that visa processing had been limited over the past 18 months due to mob attacks, protests and security concerns, though medical visas continued to be issued.
With the establishment of a stable government and improved law and order, visa centres would be reopened gradually, and visa issuance would increase.
The minister assured the envoy that no attacks on Indian visa centres or other Indian installations would be tolerated and confirmed that adequate security measures had been put in place.
The high commissioner also raised concerns over attempts to hack the online Indian visa application portal, prompting the minister to instruct the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Cyber Crime Unit and Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit to take appropriate action.
Both sides agreed to enhance training cooperation under India's ITEC programme, with Bangladesh committing to send more law enforcement personnel for capacity-building initiatives.
Officials present included representatives of the Indian High Commission in Dhaka and senior officers from Bangladesh's Ministry of Home Affairs.
