No security in border area as citizens dying by firing from Myanmar: Rizvi

There is no security of life for Bangladeshis as people are dying from mortar shells fired from across the border, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said today (8 February).

He also claimed that the government didn't even dare to protest against the deaths of Bangladeshis.

"It is because of the knee-jerk foreign policy of the government," he said while speaking at a press conference at the party office in the capital's Nayapaltan.

He also said the infiltration of Myanmar's Border Guard Police (BGP) into Bangladesh is "mysterious".

The BNP leader said, "The Bangladesh-Myanmar border at Naikhongchhari upazila of Bandarban has become unprotected. There, the citizens of Bangladesh are living in extreme insecurity. Neither men nor women are safe in Bangladeshi areas on the border.

"Mortar shells are killing people. A game of bloodshed is now going on in the border areas of Bangladesh due to the firings by neighbouring countries. The lives and land of the people of Bangladesh are now insecure."

He added, "People with weapons are entering Bangladesh in droves from neighbouring countries. And the silence [in this regard] of the Bangladesh government is basically a deep plot to bring the people of the country to their knees.

"The prime minister's message of peace now threatens the country's sovereignty. Our border guards are retreating every day and the people of Bangladesh are facing danger.

"But during the regime of Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia, the border areas of Bangladesh were secure and the people were safe."