No Indian leader ever raised immigrants’ issue with Dhaka: Bangladeshi scribe

Guwahati, October 6, 2018:

Prominent Bangladeshi journalist Saleem Samad said no Indian leaders had ever taken up the issue of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in Assam with Bangladesh.

Talking to a group of scribes at Guwahati Press Club from Dhaka via video conferencing, Samad said the Bangladesh government was of the view that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was an internal matter of India and as such, it had not made any official statement on the issue. He said there was hardly any media attention in Bangladesh on the issue of updation of NRC in Assam.

He highlighted how West Bengal and Tripura were taking several steps to improve connectivity with Bangladesh via railway and roadways. Emphasizing on direct air connectivity between Guwahati and Dhaka, Samad opined that trade and commerce along with cultural ties would help in erasing many misconceptions prevailing on both sides.

Citing how a network of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, Bangladesh was busted in West Bengal a few years ago, he urged the north-eastern states to remain alert about jihadi elements after the ongoing crackdown on Islamic militancy.

He revealed that thousands of Bangladeshi youths had joined various militia groups in Syria, Iraq, Chechnya, Indonesia, Philippines, Afghanistan, Pakistan etc to fight alongside the jihadis.