India, B'desh discuss extradition treaty, border issues

Progress on an extradition treaty, repatriation of United Liberation Front of Assam leader Anup Chetia and border related issues figured in talks between the home secretaries of India and Bangladesh in Dhaka on Tuesday.

"We are happy with the progress that has been made and discussions we had have regarding the extradition treaty," Indian home secretary R K Singh told reporters at a joint press briefing after concluding talks with his Bangladesh counterpart CQ Mushtaq Ahmed.

Ahmed acknowledged the receipt of an Indian draft of the proposed treaty seeking mutual repatriation of wanted or convicted persons and said an inter-ministerial review was underway on the draft in Bangladesh.

Both the home secretaries, however, said despite the absence of the treaty, wanted persons in each other's country could be extradited under the South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation charter and United Nations convention.

"Our cooperation in fighting terrorism is very strong (despite the absence of the extradition treaty) and other instruments too are in place in this regard," Singh said.

Ahmed said the issue of repatriation of Chetia was also discussed. He told his counterpart that Dhaka could take a decision on the issue on disposal of a pending case in the high court challenging his return.

A joint statement issued after the meeting said, "The Indian home secretary conveyed (India's) appreciation for extending cooperation for addressing the security concerns of India particularly in dealing with the Indian insurgent groups".