Bangladesh today said it intends to appeal for justice over the murder of a teenage girl on the border with India in 2011 if Indian authorities fail to act against a BSF personnel who allegedly shot her.
"This is a tragic murder...And we have sought justice. If we do not get it, we will appeal against the judgement," Foreign Minister Dipu Moni told a news conference here that was largely dominated by Dhaka-New Delhi relations.
She said Bangladesh has already sought information on the procedure or system adopted by the Border Security Force (BSF) to challenge the verdict of an Indian tribunal that reportedly found the BSF personnel accused of shooting Felani Khatun in January 2011 "innocent".
Bangladesh is awaiting the final results of the review of the judgment by BSF authorities, she added.
Replying to a question on the current state of bilateral relations, Moni said the two countries were engaged in multilateral links which had developed extensively during the past four and half years of the Awami League government, while ties were at their lowest ebb during the previous BNP-led regime.
Asked what Bangladesh had gained from India, Moni said both countries achieved a lot and outstanding issues like the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) and Teesta Treaty were in their final stage of settlement.
Moni appreciated the Indian government's efforts to resolve issues and expected "these two issues will be resolved today or tomorrow".
She, however, tended to hold West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and some political "quarters" in India responsible for frustrating the Teesta deal and the LBA issue due to their "narrow partisan attitude".
"They may currently see the issues with a narrow partisan attitude but Indian politicians will definitely realise the whole canvas of Bangladesh-India ties," Moni said.
She also listed Bangladesh's achievements in recent years, including duty free access of its products, opening of the Tin Bigha Corridor for 24 hours, flood forecasting information, grid connectivity for importing power and the USD 1 billion Indian line of credit of which USD 200 million was later declared a grant.
