Specific policies needed to stop border killings Says ASK

Specific policies and state-level administrative commitments regarding the use of lethal and non-lethal weapons in the borders are needed to stop recurrence of border killings, said Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) yesterday.

The continuation of border killings, tortures and harassments are contradictory to international law and human rights, opined the rights body.

ASK came up with the observation when a five-day director general level conference between Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Indian Border Security Force (BSF) is being held in the capital. The conference began yesterday and will end on April 27.

A 10-member Indian delegation led by BSF Director General KK Sharma and a 15-member delegation of his Bangladesh counterpart led by Maj Gen Md Safinul Islam are participating in the conference.

Issues like border killings of unarmed Bangladeshi citizens, abduction or detention, trespassing, and smuggling of arms, explosives and drugs will be discussed among others in the conference, said a release of ASK, quoting BGB sources.

According to a survey of ASK, 161 Bangladeshi nationals were killed in BSF's shooting in the last five years. Of them, 27 Bangladeshis were killed in 2013 while 33 in 2014, 46 in 2015, 31 in 2016, and 24 in 2017.

A total of 294 Bangladeshi citizens were tortured and another 408 were abducted in border areas, according to ASK statistics.