M A I N   N E W S

Status quo to be restored
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 19
Tension started de-escalating in the Meghalaya sector of the Indo-Bangladesh border with Dhaka agreeing today to pull out personnel of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) for restoring status quo ante in the East Khasi village of Pyrdiwah, which had been forcibly occupied on Monday.

It was agreed at a high-level meeting that the “status quo ante on the border would be restored and action is under way on the ground to meet the objective,” a spokesman for the Ministry of External Affairs said here, adding that this is being done “in keeping with the tradition of close and friendly relations between the two sides”.

A day after India lodged a protest with Bangladesh over the “one-sided”, “unwarranted” and “unprovoked” action of the BDR, New Delhi and Dhaka moved quickly to defuse tension without creating any noise.

Downplaying the incidents on the border in which BSF personnel lost their lives, the spokesman, when asked if Bangladesh had offered any apology for the incident, said: “We are in touch with the Bangladesh side. Both sides have agreed to exercise utmost restraint”.

Asked about the number of BSF personnel killed and injured, the spokesman said, “I would not like to speculate unless I have full confirmation” of the casualities.

Expressing regret over the loss of life, the two governments agreed to exercise utmost restraint to prevent recurrence of such incidents, the spokesman said. The two sides were in touch with each other to retrieve the mortal remains of those killed in the incidents of firing and shelling and return of injured BSF personnel in the custody of Bangladesh.

New Delhi reiterated it was in the interest of both countries to work together in a spirit of mutual cooperation to address pending border issues through institutions and mechanisms set up for this purpose.

The spokesman said the border had been calm and no incident of firing was reported today. Both countries were in constant touch, he said.

Asked who started the trouble, the spokesman said, “It was a unilateral action by the BDR.” “This was unwarranted”, he remarked.

However, according to sources, there have been fresh casualties on the Indian side after the latest incidents of shelling.

After the first incident in Pyrdiwah, the BSF issued general instructions all along the border to maintain extra vigil and indulge in aggressive patrolling. One such BSF patrol party was ambushed by the Bangladesh Rifles, sources said.

While the BSF Director- General, Mr Gurbachan Jagat, kept a close watch on the developments on the Indo-Bangladesh border, senior BSF officials pointed out that there was no provocation from the Indian side.

“One of the patrol parties in this area within our territory was ambushed by Bangladeshi regular army troops, resulting in a number of casualties,” a top official said.

Fifteen BSF men are missing since yesterday and the Central paramilitary force is awaiting an official word from the Bangladesh Government.

Intelligence failure denied
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 19
The government today, while denying that there was an intelligence failure on the Indo-Bangladesh border, where the men from Bangladesh Rifles and the BSF clashed, leading to the killing of 16 BSF jawans, said it was not accepting Dhaka’s explanation.

Replying to questions raised by Opposition members on the issue in the Rajya Sabha, Defence Minister Jaswant Singh said the explanation of the Bangladesh Government for the clash was not acceptable to the Indian Government.

He pointed out that the Vajpayee government had demanded the restoration of status quo ante on the border in order to continue normal, friendly relations with Dhaka.

Stating that the government was “fully seized” of the matter ever since the trouble arose on the border, Mr Jaswant Singh denied there was any intelligence failure as alleged by some members in the House.

He, however, refused to commit any timeframe for the restoration of status quo ante as demanded by the members, and categorically stated that the action of Bangladesh Rifles was not acceptable to the Indian Government.

He said New Delhi had already conveyed its displeasure over the clash to the “friendly”government in Dhaka.

The issue came up soon after question hour when Chairman Krishan Kant allowed Samajwadi Party member Ram Gopal Yadav to raise it even as Congress members vehemently raised the Tehelka issue.

Subsequently, Congress member Manmohan Singh joined other members in demanding a response from the government on this issue.

He said the delimitation of the Indo-Bangladesh border was an old issue and the job of identification of the border was going on, and most of it had been completed.

When some members wanted to know what status quo ante could be restored as all Indian citizens had already fled the villages, Mr Jaswant Singh said the restoration of status quo ante meant return of all Indian citizens. Mr Dipankar Mukherjee (CPM) charged the government with intelligence failure.