Indian Home Minister to Visit Bangladesh: Anti-Terror Cooperation High On Agenda

Rajnath Singh, who will be accompanied by senior officials of his ministry and the top brass of the Border Security Force (BSF), will be holding crucial meetings with his Bangladeshi counterpart, Asaduzzaman Khan, and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — Exploring ways to strengthen the India-Bangladesh joint anti-terror mechanism tops the agenda of Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh who is arriving in Bangladesh on Friday. He will also take up the issue of the alleged radicalization of youths by various terror outfits and the Rohingya refugee issue.

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Furthermore, the two sides will also discuss steps to strengthen the existing mechanism of checking illegal immigrants and combating the smuggling of cattle, arms and ammunition, and narcotics.

— ANI (@ANI) July 12, 2018

"The Home Minister's visit is of considerable significance due to various reasons. First and foremost is the issue of illegal immigration [that] is still going on, therefore there is an urgent need to strengthen the border police. Apart from this, the smuggling of drugs and arms is to be curbed," P. K. Mishra, former additional director of the BSF, told Sputnik.

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Smugglers have found an easy route to dump fake currency notes through Bangladesh's border, which is porous and this a major concern for the Indian government. Therefore there is a need to man the gaps and monitor the border. "We need strong support from Bangladesh to solve these issues and I think it's the right time, as India has cordial relations with the Shiekh Hasina government, which is willing to cooperate with India," Mishra added.