Form human shield: Islamist Jamaat to march to India border over 'push-ins'
Rallies will be held in border districts on June 12 and in Dhaka on June 15
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and allied Islamist parties have announced that they would march to various border points with India on Friday protesting against the alleged Indian push-ins and killings near the frontier.
The anti-Hasina student's NCP has called for Bangladeshis to form a human shield along the border even as high-level talks between India and Bangladesh are being held in New Delhi.
Bangladesh's Jamaat-e-Islami and its coalition of Islamist and other opposition parties, including the former anti-Sheikh Hasina students'-led NCP, have announced protests along the India-Bangladesh border over alleged "push-ins" by India and the "killing of Bangladeshi nationals near the frontier".
The protest plan of the Bangladeshi parties was shared by the Shafiqur Rahman-led Jamaat.
The Jamaat-led 11-party alliance said it would hold protest rallies in border districts and key border points across Bangladesh on Friday (June 12) followed by a rally and procession in Dhaka on June 15.
The alliance has attacked PM Tarique Rahman's BNP government and has accused India of attempting to force people across the border. The Jamaat alliance also alleged that "Bangladeshi citizens have been killed in firing by India's Border Security Force (BSF)".
Bangladesh Jamaat leader Hamidur Rahman Azad said that although border killings had long been a concern, the situation has become more alarming under the current Suvendu government in Kolkata and the Modi Govt in New Delhi.
Citing media reports, he said attempts had been made to push people into Bangladesh at more than 50 locations along the border during March, April and May this year, involving 2,479 individuals.
He further claimed that during the first 100 days of the current Tarique Rahman government in Dhaka, 19 Bangladeshis were killed and 24 others injured by gunfire from India's Border Security Force (BSF).
He also alleged that 83 people had been detained or abducted by the BSF and Myanmar's Arakan Army.
Criticising a recent statement by the home minister, Azad said,
"There is no legal provision for killing anyone at the border. Even if a person commits a crime, there are legal procedures to arrest and bring them under the law. Directly shooting and killing people is a clear violation of human rights and an attack on Bangladesh's sovereignty."
Calling on the government to take action, he said, "We have remained uncompromising in defending the country's independence and sovereignty, and we will continue to do so. Push-ins will be resisted at any cost."
India has consistently rejected the description of these actions as "push-ins".
New Delhi maintains that only 'illegal foreign nationals' are being repatriated after due verification and in accordance with existing procedures.
Responding to remarks by Bangladeshi officials, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India expected Bangladesh to expedite nationality verification so that repatriation could proceed smoothly.
The Jamaat bloc's announcement comes amid a diplomatic focus on an issue which Bangladesh calls "push-ins". Dhaka said the issue was raised during the 57th Director General-level talks between the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and India's Border Security Force (BSF) held in New Delhi from June 8 to 11.
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