The visiting Bangladesh Minister for Home Affairs Dr Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir who met Sindhe here on Tuesday finalized the agenda for the ministerial level talks in Dhaka.

Both sides noted that the action was being taken for repatriation of sentenced prisoners to either country under the agreement for transfer of sentenced prisoners.

Repatriation of the ULFA leader, Anup Chetia was, however, not discussed. “Anup Chetia’s appeal for asylum in Bangladesh is pending before the Supreme Court. As and when the legal process is over, we will consider Chetia’s case,” said Dr Alamgir.

Responding to the request of Bangladesh side for tracking, apprehending and handing over of the killers of the Father of the Nation of Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Shindhe reassured them that it would extend all possible cooperation in this regard, if they are in India.

In a joint statement India and Bangladesh noted with appreciation the cooperation between the two countries and the action taken to address the menace of terrorism and extremism in a more effective manner by both sides. It was agreed to enhance cooperation to address the security concerns and also to implement the Coordinated Border Management Plan (CBMP) signed between the two countries to control the illegal cross border activities. Both sides reviewed the functioning of the nodal points for sharing of information on security related matters and expressed satisfaction at its working.

Incidents of deaths and loss of life on the border are extremely unfortunate and regrettable. We have put in place mechanisms which have greatly reduced the scope for such incidents and have strengthened mutual trust and goodwill among the border guarding forces and people living in the border areas. The number of such incidents has steadily come down in the last few years. However, even one loss of life is too many. To ensure that no incidents take place in future, India and Bangladesh must work jointly together and further enhance cooperation between our border guarding forces to eliminate illegal trans-border activities. Both sides agreed not to resort to firing unless fired upon or attacked by terrorists or armed criminals.

Both sides agreed to further enhance the level of cooperation and vigilance to control the smuggling of fake Indian currency notes. Both sides also discussed the urgency of stopping the smuggling of narcotics and psychotropic substances.