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India could wage diplomatic war against Bangladesh

* Security agencies say Khalida must be forced to clamp down on extremists
* Situation remains tense along India-Bangladesh border

By Iftikhar Gilani

NEW DELHI: Indian security agencies have asked the government to launch a diplomatic war against Bangladesh to force major donors to impose economic sanctions on Dhaka till Begum Khalida Zia’s government clamps down on Islamic outfits in her country. Bangladesh largely depends on US and Japanese aid for development.

A study of the security situation in Bangladesh by the Indian agencies and an analysis of the blasts that rocked the country on Wednesday have pointed towards groups that are banned and accused of fanning anti-India sentiment. The study says the attack was coordinated, the level of coordination pointed to the involvement of more than one fundamentalist outfit and that they were emboldened because of a “lack of tangible action by the Khaleda government”.

The report also says there are hints that a blast in August 2004 was suspected to have been inspired by India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). It says it is possible that efforts will be on to malign India again.

New Delhi should actively consider economic measures against Bangladesh, the report says, adding that such measures are more effective than the use of military might in curbing fundamentalist militancy.

Meanwhile, the situation along the India-Bangladesh border remained tense on Saturday, as an Indian villager was injured in fresh clashes between Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and Indian Border Security Forces (BSF) at Raipur in West Bengal’s Malda district.

A flag meeting between the BSF and BDR was likely to be held on Sunday to defuse tension and settle the ‘dispute’ over the anti-erosion work at Mahananda River, sources said.

BSF Deputy Inspector General Ramesh Singh told reporters that the BDR firing was unprovoked and unwarranted, as the embankment work was being undertaken well inside Indian territory to check large-scale erosion by Mahananda River, which serves as a demarcating line between the two countries. “Moreover, the work, needed urgently, is a temporary measure to check erosion,” the DIG said, adding, the Bangladesh side had no reason to object to it.

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