Dhaka: Bangladesh’s security agencies are ready to avoid any “untoward situation” during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the country next week, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said Sunday.
Modi is expected to travel to Dhaka on March 17 at the invitation of his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina to attend the centenary celebrations of Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
“We will welcome Prime Minister Modi with the state of honour. Members of our law enforcement agencies will act alongside armed forces across the country to ensure his security,” Khan was quoted as saying by the Daily Star.
His remarks came days after some people held protest in Dhaka and other districts against Prime Minister Modi over India’s new citizenship law and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The protestors demanded Prime Minister Hasina to cancel Modi’s visit. The Bangladesh home minister said the law enforcement agencies are ready “so that no one can create any untoward situation” during Modi’s visit.
During the visit, Prime Minister Modi is expected to assuage Bangladesh’s concerns over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the NRC, sources in New Delhi have said.
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla was in Bangladesh earlier this month and during his visit he had assured Bangladesh that the updation of the National Register of Citizens will have “no implications” for its people, asserting that it is a process that is “entirely internal” to the country.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen and Home Minister Khan cancelled their visits to India in December over the situation following the passage of the citizenship bill by Parliament.
Dhaka was also apparently upset following the roll out of the NRC in Assam even though India conveyed to it that the issue was an internal matter of the country.
Responding to a query over border killings by security forces at the border, the home minister said he has brought up the issue with his Indian counterpart on numerous occasions.
Claiming that the incident of border killing increased this year compared to last year, Kamal said discussions between the BSF and Border Guard Bangladesh is going on to bring border killings to zero.
PTI