Prime minister asks for stronger dialogue with India

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday asked the foreign and home ministries as well as Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) to raise the border killing issue with India more strongly.
"The government should deal with the issue more strongly to stop the border killings," a cabinet minister quoted the prime minister as telling her colleagues at the weekly cabinet meeting held at the Secretariat.
LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam brought the border killing issue to discussion when Foreign Minister Dipu Moni placed a report on the participation of the Bangladeshi delegation in the 33rd Saarc Council of Ministers.
Hasina asked the foreign minister and State Minister for Home Shamsul Hoque Tuku to take necessary steps so that both Bangladesh and Indian governments take sincere effort to stop the border killings.
The prime minister directed them so that the matter comes up prominently in the discussion during the upcoming visit of Indian prime minister to Bangladesh.
Innocent and unarmed Bangladeshi citizens are being killed in indiscriminate firings and also in torture by Border Security Forces (BSF) of India on the borders regularly.
The BSF allegedly killed 907 unarmed Bangladeshis between1 January 2000 and 31 March 2011, Odhikar, a human rights body based in Dhaka, says in its latest report.
Bangladesh has long been asking India to stop firings at unarmed Bangladeshis by BSF. India also gave commitments repeatedly to stop border killings in different meetings, including the home secretary meetings and conferences of director generals (DGs) of BGB and BSF, but did not keep its promises in reality.
The issue dominated the home secretary level meeting held in Dhaka in January where Indian Home Secretary GK Pillai assured of taking sincere effort to stop the killings.
Human rights activists, who are criticising India for firing and killings of unarmed Bangladeshis, said the government should take strong position to stop the killing.
At the cabinet meeting, Hasina also asked the law and finance ministries and Bangladesh Bank to expedite trial of the money laundering cases.
The prime minister made the directive as money laundering cases, including those against BNP chairperson's two sons -- Arafat Rahman Koko and Tarique Rahman -- and their business partner Giasuddin Al Mamun are losing pace, said meeting sources.