The last one month has seen Indo-Bangladesh ties hit a new low. First, deputy prime minister L.K. Advani alleged that after the regime change in Dhaka last year there has been an increase in the activities of the isi and Al Qaeda. Then, foreign minister Yashwant Sinha backed Advani's claim in Parliament. In an interview to V. Sudarshan, Bangladesh high commissioner Tufail K. Haider rubbishes the charges. Excerpts:
How much is India responsible for the current poor state of Indo-Bangladesh ties?
Can you amplify this?
Yashwant Sinha said on November 26 that Indian insurgent groups in the Northeast have taken shelter in Bangladesh, that this has been brought to your notice.
During the DG-level meeting between the Border Security Force and Bangladesh Rifles in September/ October this year, a list of 99 training camps in Bangladesh was handed over. Have you conducted a probe to ascertain the claims?
Yashwant Sinha says the Pakistani High Commission in Dhaka is the hub of ISI activities?
Sinha was completely off the mark?
Back to the subject of leaks...
So have you seen any mature leak in Indo-Bangladesh relations?
So, on November 26, Yashwant Sinha wasn't being careful about Bangladesh's sensitivities.
Neither was Advani?
What do you say to reports in both the western and Indian media that coincidental with the emergence of the new government in Bangladesh there is more intolerance in the air.
What is the correct construction?
There is unhappiness here that Bangladesh has never unequivocally, unambiguously condemned cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, especially since 9/11.
Can there be good terrorists or bad terrorists or only terrorists?
So can you cite one single instance since September 11 of the Bangladesh government coming out unambiguously against terrorism in J&K?
Do you recall even one statement?
Yes, the United States does it, Putin when he came here, he did it, ditto France and the UK, uniformly after every incident. Even Musharraf himself sometimes condemns it ...
Let's leave aside training camps that are difficult to verify. What about the instance when the Bangladeshi authorities themselves informed the Indian authorities last December that they have three self-confessed Naga militants in their custody?
Exactly, there are two broad categories. One is the instance of ULFA general secretary Anup Chetia..
But what about terrorist Sanjid Deb Barman who, after serving his term, applied for political asylum? This was turned down by Bangladesh courts. Yet there is no word whether Dhaka intends to send him back.
Can you name one initiative that your PM has taken to address the fundamental sources of differences between India and Bangladesh?
Considering India's role in liberating Bangladesh, many here feel let down by the bad vibes between the two countries. Can you explain it?
