New Delhi:

Pakistan’s notorious spy agency ISI has secretly sent four top members to Dhaka, raising a red flag in New Delhi. Acknowledging the development, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday that India is keeping a very close watch on the developments in its immediate neighbourhood, especially ones that having a bearing on its national security. “Appropriate action” will be taken, if required, the foreign ministry said.

Pakistani spy agency ISI’s Director General of Analysis Maj Gen Shahid Amir Afsar and other senior officials are reportedly visiting Bangladesh at the moment. The visit comes close on the heels of a Bangladeshi military delegation visiting Rawalpindi and meeting the army, air force, and navy chiefs.

“We keep an eye on all activities around the country and in the region, as well as all activities affecting our national security, and the government will take appropriate steps,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in response to a question on fast-growing military engagement between Bangladesh and Pakistan.

ISI OFFICIALS IN DHAKA

According to a report in the Hindustan Times, less than a week after a Bangladeshi military delegation toured Pakistan, meeting all three service chiefs, Rawalpindi has sent four senior officers, including a two-star General of the ISI to Dhaka. The report, which attributes the development to unnamed sources familiar with the matter, states that Major General Shahid Amir Afsar, who is the Director General of Analysis in the ISI, and has served as Pakistan’s defence attache in Beijing, is part of the delegation.

The six-member Bangladeshi delegation which visited Rawalpindi – the town where Pakistan’s military headquarters is based – was led by Lt. Gen. SM Kamrul Hasan, the Principal Staff Officer of the Bangladesh Armed Forces Division. Pakistan Army Chief Gen. Asim Munir reportedly met them for extensive talks. The Bangladeshi delegation stayed in Pakistan between January 13 and January 18.

Photo Credit: YouTube / ISPR Official

Just three days later – on January 21, Rawalpindi secretly dispatched a senior delegation to Dhaka. This was the first time in nearly two decades that the ISI officially went to Bangladesh. A senior official from Bangladesh’s Directorate General of Forces Intelligence or DGFI received them at the airport upon their arrival aboard an Emirates Airlines flight routed via Dubai.

The ISI team is being given a detailed tour of several military establishments in Bangladesh and is reportedly being informed about Dhaka’s military capabilities and preparedness.

In the midst of these visits by either side, the Pakistan Army’s media wing – the Inter-Services Public Relations or ISPR released a statement, in which it wrote that the meeting between Lt Gen SM Kamrul Hasan of Bangladesh and Pak Army Chief Gen. Asim Munir “underscored the importance of a stronger defence relationship, emphasising that the enduring partnership between the two brotherly nations must remain resilient against external influences.”

WHEN ISI ACTIVITY WAS STOPPED IN BANGLADESH

When Sheikh Hasina was the prime minister, all activities by Pakistan’s ISI was brought to a grinding halt due to its covert activities and political interference in Bangladesh, as well as its support for extremist elements. Under Sheikh Hasina’s leadership, several people were caught and prosecuted for their involvement and collusion with the ISI during the 1971 Bangladesh War.

But ever since Sheikh Hasina’s ouster, the interim government under Muhammad Yunus has been accelerating military ties with Pakistan. During the 1990s, when terror camps mushroomed across Pakistan and were used on foreign soil as “an instrument of state policy”, as highlighted by India at the United Nations, the ISI even used Bangladeshi soil to fund militancy and insurgency in India’s northeastern states. This too was cracked down upon by Sheikh Hasina when she came to power the first time in 1996.
 

Trade resumes through land ports along the India- Bangladesh border. File
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

As trade resumes through land ports along the Bangladesh border, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is all set to inaugurate a passenger terminal building and a friendship gate at Petrapole in West Bengal on Sunday (October 26, 2024). In an indication that necessary administrative relations are moving on, around 10 officials from Bangladesh’s land port authority received training in Delhi last week.

The Petrapole-Benapole (Bangladesh) border is one of the busiest land ports along the Bangladesh border as nearly 70% of trade between the two countries takes place here. Data available with The Hindu shows that from October 20-25, as many as 2,635 trucks passed through the land port. The number of trucks from India stood at 1,776, while those from Bangladesh was 859.

Before the regime change in Bangladesh on August 5, the border saw the movement of approximately 600-700 trucks per day. From August 5 to August 8, in the immediate days after former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina escaped to India, the number of trucks that moved through Petrapole, Agartala, Dawki, Srimatpur, and Sutarkandi stood at 277, while the number had increased substantially to 1,028 from October 14 to October 20.

An official of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that the current numbers show that trade volume is back to its regular pace.

The total number of cargo movements at seven land ports — Petrapole, Agartala, dawki, Srimantpur, Sutarkandi, Golakganj, and Mankachar — during the same period stood at 6,169.

Petrapole is the largest land port in South Asia and it is a vital gateway for trade and commerce between India and Bangladesh. It is also the eighth largest international immigration port of India, and facilitates the movement of over 23.5 lakh passengers annually between India and Bangladesh.

The new Passenger Terminal Building to be inaugurated on Sunday will be able to handle 20,000 passengers per day.

“It is equipped with all modern facilities such as VIP lounges, Duty free shop, Basis medical facility, Infant/baby feeding Room, Food and beverages outlets etc….it will house immigration, customs, and security services under one roof,” a statement by the MHA said.

The MHA said that the building, with a built-up area of 59,800 square metres, will enhance the travel experience between India and Bangladesh, and will position itself as a pivotal hub in Asia.

The Maitri Dwar (friendship gate) is a joint cargo gate at the Zero Line agreed upon by both countries. The Land Ports Authority of India has established the new, common second cargo gate named Maitri Dwar in response to the daily cross-border traffic.

“This dedicated gate for cargo movement is aimed at easing and streamlining the flow of goods between the two nations. The introduction of Maitri Dwar is anticipated to significantly accelerate the release and clearance of goods at the border, thereby enhancing trade efficiency,” the MHA said.

The gate is equipped with boom barriers, facial recognition camaras, and access-controlled entry/exit points for Indian and Bangladeshi trucks. It will be a dedicated gate for cargo movement.