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Border protocol implementation to take time

By R Dutta Choudhury

GUWAHATI, Feb 26 � The implementation of the land border protocol between India and Bangladesh will take some time as the process of Constitutional amendment for it has started and it is still not decided as to when the issue will come up for discussion in the Parliament.

Highly placed sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) told The Assam Tribune that the issue of implementation of the land border protocol was discussed in the recent meeting between the Home Ministers of India and Bangladesh but no date has been finalised for its implementation. The land border protocol was signed last year.

Sources said that though the Government of Bangladesh has been taking action against the militants taking shelter in that country, some members of the militant groups of the North East region are still staying in the neighbouring country and the issue was taken up with Bangladesh again. Sources revealed that according to information available with the Government of India, militant groups like NLFT of Tripura, PLA, UNLF and PREPAK of Manipur and NSCN (I-M) have their bases in Bangladesh, while, some members of the hardline faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and Ranjan Daimary faction of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) are also staying in the bordering areas. However, no militant group now has full fledged camps in the neighbouring country. MHA sources said that six ULFA members are now in Bangladesh jail, but the extradition of ULFA general secretary Anup Chetia would take some time as the Government of Bangladesh would have to complete the legal formalities before pushing back the militant leader. Sources said that signing of an extradition treaty with Bangladesh would also take some time as some of the points are still being discussed.

During the discussion, the Bangladesh delegation raised the issue of firing by the Border Security Force (BSF) and claimed that four Bangladeshi nationals were killed in BSF firing in the month of December. On its part, India raised the issue of breaches caused by criminals on the fencing along the international border and requested the Bangladesh authorities to deal with the problem. Sources admitted that frequent fence breaches have become a serious problem and the same is done mostly by cattle smugglers and other criminals also take advantage of the situation.

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