Menon plans Bangladesh visit to start stalled talks

Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon plans to visit Bangladesh next week in a bid to start the stalled foreign secretary-level talks.

Talks between India and Bangladesh hit a roadblock in 2005 after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stayed away from the SAARC summit hosted by Dhaka due to security issues.

This was preceded by tension over the firing between the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) at the border.

Bangladesh made harassment of its nationals who strayed into the Indian territory an issue, while India repeatedly expressed concern about inaccurate reporting of its motives regarding disputes related to water and inter-state boundaries.

What the foreign secretary's visit will achieve at a time when the political situation in Bangladesh is fluid is another matter. Awami League President and former prime minister Sheikh Hasina returned to Bangladesh in May, almost three weeks after a military-backed interim government sought to force her to stay abroad.

Although the head of Bangladesh's emergency government, Fakhruddin Ahmed, has rejected reports that the military was running Bangladesh from behind the scenes, it is clear that the situation is unstable and any effort by India to reach out to any of the warring parties may make it untouchable for others.

But the visit will help break the ice and consolidate the gains of an earlier visit by Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee to invite Fakhruddin Ahmed to attend the 14th SAARC summit. This visit is likely to be closely watched by both countries.

India's problems with Bangladesh are: around 176 insurgent camps and safe houses in Bangladesh; anti-Hindu violence, which has abated after the emergency; illegal Bangladeshi migration to India; India's demand for transit facilities to the North-East; Bangladesh's refusal to sign a free trade agreement; and barriers to around $3 billion of proposed investments by the Tatas.