United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh and India should have a highly developed border management system to manage and control crimes and criminal activities, enabling the legal movement of people and goods, said former Indian diplomat Pankaj Saran, describing the killings along the Bangladesh-India border as ‘unfortunate’. “I don't know what to say, it's unfortunate. These things should not happen at all….. We should be honest with ourselves as to why this is happening. The actions and remedies for this lie on both sides - the Bangladesh authorities and Indian authorities,” said Pankaj, Convenor of NatStrat, a Delhi-based independent centre for research on strategic and security issues. During an interaction with a Bangladeshi media delegation at the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service in New Delhi recently, the former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh said many protocols have been signed and agreements have been reached between the border forces and the two governments on the issue of managing the border effectively.

The aspect of security for India is a very important element of India's policy in the neighborhood, said Pankaj Saran, Convenor of NatStrat, a Delhi-based independent centre for research on strategic and security issues, noting that India is keen to build ‘new page’ in ties with Bangladesh after elections. "We have to see how the new government in Bangladesh will manage its relations with China, Pakistan, and the United States, and where India will fit into this," said the expert, who served in key positions within the Government of India in the Prime Minister’s Office, the National Security Council Secretariat, the Ministry of External Affairs, and in several Indian Missions abroad. On the one hand, India has a focus on security for its own interests but on the other hand, what India also wants to do is to ensure that it pursues policies in the neighborhood, minus Pakistan, he said. "China has borders with Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar. So, China's relationship with all these countries also becomes important for us," said Pankaj Saran, a former diplomat with forty years of experience in foreign, strategic, and national security affairs.