Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (May 25, 2024) said that the Awami League government has taken significant measures to shut down arms smuggling routes through Bangladesh to India, fostering peace in India's northeastern states.

“Since coming to power, the Awami League has closed down the routes used for arms smuggling through Bangladesh,” she stated.

The Prime Minister made these remarks during a program inaugurating various development projects in Old Dhaka, including the construction of a new 10-storey Bangabazar Nagar Wholesale Market. The original market was destroyed by a devastating fire on April 4 last year.

PM Hasina inaugurates construction of new Bangabazar Wholesale Market

The other projects inaugurated include Valiant Freedom Fighter Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Sarani (an 8-lane road), Hossain Shaheed Suhrawardy Shishu Udyan, and Nazrul Sarobor.

Prime Minister Hasina emphasized the impact of the Awami League's efforts to curb arms smuggled to various Indian separatist groups, including the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA).

“As a result, peace prevails in the seven sister states of India. The Awami League has done this, and it is a significant accomplishment,” she added.

The ULFA is an armed militant organization operating in Assam, seeking to establish an independent sovereign nation for the Assamese people through armed struggle. The Government of India banned ULFA in 1990, citing it as a terrorist organization.

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The seven sister states of India are Mizoram, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, and Nagaland.

The inauguration program was presided over by LGRD Minister Md Tazul Islam. Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, local MP AFM Bahauddin Nasim, and LGRD Secretary Muhammad Ibrahim also spoke at the event.