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Josy Joseph in New Delhi
India and Bangladesh have expressed regret for the skirmishes along the international border in Meghalaya and Assam and agreed to restore the status quo ante, an external affairs ministry spokesman said in New Delhi on Thursday evening.
The spokesman said both governments were in touch at various levels and the decision had been passed on to the troops on the ground to resolve the crisis.
"The governments of India and Bangladesh have been in touch with each other both in New Delhi and Dhaka in connection with the developments on the border," he said. "In keeping with the tradition of close and friendly relations between the two sides, it has been agreed that the status quo ante at the India-Bangladesh border be restored," he said. Consequently, action "is underway on the ground to meet the objective".
The two governments "regret the loss of life in these unfortunate incidents and have agreed that utmost restraint be exercised to prevent the recurrence of such incidents", he added.
The spokesman, however, refused to identify who had expressed regret, at what level the decision to restore status quo ante was taken, and who would oversee its restoration.
The Government of India, he said, "reiterates that it is in the interests of both countries to work together in the spirit of mutual co-operation to address residual border issues through institutions and mechanisms set up by the two sides".
Last December, after foreign secretary-level talks, both countries had set up a joint working group on the boundary question. Ironically, the group is yet to meet.
Border Security Force Director General Gurbachan Jagat is in constant touch with his counterpart in the Bangladesh Rifles, the spokesman said. Likewise, the Indian high commission in Dhaka is in touch with the Government of Bangladesh while the external affairs ministry is in touch with the high commission of Bangladesh in New Delhi.
"Efforts are also on to retrieve the bodies of those killed in the incident," he said. But he refused to give any casualty figure. He also did not confirm when the two injured BSF personnel taken to Dhaka by the Bangladesh Rifles would return.
Reiterating that the raid on Pyrdiwah village in Meghalaya was a "unilateral action taken by the Bangladesh Rifles", he refused to give a definite answer whether the BSF had overrun any Bangladeshi village. Both sides claim several hamlets along the border.
The contentious dispute has been a permanent subject in talks between the countries, but the issue remains where it was 30 years ago, when Bangladesh was created in military action by the Indian Army and the Mukti Bahini.
EARLIER REPORT: India, Bangladesh agree to restore status quo ante
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