11-party alliance announces nationwide protests over border killings, alleged push-ins

The 11-party opposition alliance, led by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, on Wednesday announced a series of nationwide protests to condemn alleged push-ins from India and continued killings along the Bangladesh-India border.

Addressing a press conference in Dhaka, Jamaat Assistant Secretary General and coordinator of the alliance’s liaison committee, Hamidur Rahman Azad, said demonstrations would be held in all border districts and key frontier areas on 12 June, followed by a protest rally in Dhaka’s Shahbagh on 15 June.

Claiming that border areas remain inadequately protected, Azad described border killings as a longstanding concern, alleging that the continued incidents pose a threat to the country’s independence and sovereignty.

He also criticised India’s BJP-led government, saying it had strengthened security measures in 26 frontier districts while failing to maintain good neighbourly relations with Bangladesh.

Referring to India’s position on the issue, Azad questioned its denial of the term “push-in”, alleging that attempts were being made to force people into Bangladesh through various border points.

He claimed that strong resistance by local residents and members of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) had prevented a larger number of people from entering the country. Citing media reports, he alleged that at least 50 push-in incidents had occurred over the past three months, involving attempts to send more than 2,479 people into Bangladesh, while suggesting the actual figure could be considerably higher.

Azad further alleged that 19 Bangladeshi nationals had been killed by India’s Border Security Force (BSF) and 24 others injured by gunfire during the past 100 days. He also claimed that the BSF and Myanmar’s Arakan Army had detained at least 83 Bangladeshis during the same period.

Criticising the government’s response, he accused the administration of failing to take adequate measures and urged it to abandon what he described as a “submissive foreign policy” in order to safeguard national interests and sovereignty.

Several senior leaders of the alliance attended the press conference, including National Citizen Party Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary and Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis Joint Secretary General Tofazzal Hossain Miaji.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh reportedly sent 12 to 13 letters to India by 8 June regarding the issue, but no significant progress had been achieved.

During the four-day BGB-BSF Director General-level talks that began in New Delhi on 8 June, Bangladesh condemned the alleged forced expulsions, describing them as illegal and a humanitarian concern. India, however, maintained that it was repatriating undocumented individuals in accordance with its domestic laws and bilateral procedures.