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June 11, 2001

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Indo-Bangla border talks from Tuesday

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

Bangladesh High Commissioner Mustafa Farooque Mohammad Monday delivered a letter from his country's Home Minister Mohammed Nasim, to his Indian counterpart L K Advani, on the two-day border talks.

The talks between the two countries commence on Tuesday, a top Bangladesh High Commission official said.

The official indicated that the talks, the first between the two neighbours, following border skirmishes which led to 19 deaths recently, would "amicably sort out mutual tension".

The joint secretary-level talks are being headed by Meera Shankar from India and Janibul Huq from Bangladesh.

He indicated that Bangladesh had responded positively to an Indian government invitation for talks, wherein the two sides would strive to de-escalate tension, which had cropped up following the recent border skirmishes.

An Indian delegation would also visit Dhaka shortly, to continue discussions on the border issue, he pointed out.

A representative of the Bangladesh Rifles is also present in the country's delegation, which is arriving on Monday evening, the official pointed out.

The official pointed out that the discussions would focus on the issue of formation of joint border working groups, which had been finalised between the two countries during foreign secretary-level consultations.

Also at stake is the critical issue of the un-demarcated 6.5 km border. This has resulted in security personnel of the two countries often "straying into each other's territory", he pointed out.

Another vital issue relates to the exchange of enclaves and land in each other's possession, he stressed.

An official spokesman of the ministry of home affairs pointed out that Tuesday's talks displayed their resolve to enhance friendly relations.

The border skirmishes had sent tempers soaring in both countries, especially in India, where the massacre of 16 Border Security Force personnel by their BDR counterparts had raised demands that the neighbouring country be taught a "proper lesson".

In fact, even hardline constituents of the Sangh Parivar, like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh had heaped insult on the Vajpayee government for being "humbled by a small country like Bangladesh".

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