Border relations with India 'worst' now
Roundtable told
Speakers at a discussion in the capital yesterday expressed concern over the recent border killings and national security.
The High Commission of Canada in Dhaka and Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies (BIPSS) jointly organised the roundtable discussion titled “South Asian Regional Security: Challenges and Opportunities†at Lakeshore Hotel.
Bangladesh is now living through the worst phase of border relations with India, said Prof Shahiduzzaman of the Department of International Relations of Dhaka University. Bangladesh will continue to have problems with security optimisation until India decides to restrain itself from border shootings, he said in his keynote paper.
Commerce Minister Ghulam Muhammed Quader said, "We cannot expect that India will always be good or bad to us. As two neighbours, we need to work through our differences to live peacefully."
Speakers said while both Pakistan and India are concentrating on the development of their respective nuclear weapons, it is not likely for either country to strike within South Asia.
The issue of nuclear war will be averted by the fact that India, Pakistan and Bangladesh share common borders, said Brig Gen (retd) Shahedul Anam Khan, editor of Op-ed and Strategic Issues of The Daily Star.
Heather Cruden, high commissioner of Canada to Bangladesh, and Maj Gen ANM Muniruzzaman, ndc, psc (retd), president of BIPSS, also addressed the programme .
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