Editorial
India needs to deliver
Pranab's statement very welcome
We couldn't agree more with the Indian Finance Minister regarding the need for India to take steps expeditiously on specific outstanding issues between the two countries. We welcome the frank admission he made to the visiting Bangladeshi journalists that there has been delay and slippages in this regard.
While we very much appreciate the acknowledgement we fail to understand why it has taken so long on India's part, after the joint communiqué was signed by the two prime ministers in January 2010 that agreed in principle to address these issues urgently.
The Indian finance minister voices the sentiments of the people of Bangladesh when he says that people want to see more things visible done by the Indian side. It needs hardly be repeated that Bangladesh has been more than expeditious in making good on its commitment as per the joint communiqué.
The issue of transit and Indian insurgents in our territory, two issues that relate to India's two vital interests of security and economy, and which India had been seeking for a long time, have been addressed with the utmost rapidity by Bangladesh without even asking for a quid pro quo, whereas, there was strong opinion in Bangladesh that these two be used as give-and-take issues between the two countries. We fear that lack of reciprocity on India's part is likely to dilute the recent gains and lead to severe disappointment among the people of Bangladesh.
The outstanding issues are by no means intractable, but regrettably India's commitment is sometimes hamstrung by its internal dynamics. A case in point is the border killings by the BSF, which, in spite of assurances at the highest level, has not stopped. This is entirely unacceptable, and it is for India to remove the impediments, bureaucratic or otherwise, that stand in the way of the implementation of its policies and directives.
It is with great interest that people in Bangladesh are waiting for the impending visit of the Indian PM to Bangladesh, where announcements from the Indian side are likely to be made including on the Teesta and the longstanding and vexing border issue, according to the Indian finance minister.
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