BSF obstructs BGB from building mosque at 200-year-old site

A flag meeting was held following tensions over the construction of a new mosque next to a 200-year-old mosque along the Sylhet border

A flag meeting was held between the Border Guard of Bangladesh (BGB) and the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) in the wake of tensions over the construction of a new mosque next to a 200-year-old mosque in the Gajukata border area of Sylhet’s Beanibazar.

The BGB-BSF flag meeting was held at Sutarkandi ICP at 5pm on Tuesday. 

BGB 52 Battalion Commander Lt  Col Shah Alam Siddiqui led the BGB delegation while BSF 7 Battalion Commander Captain BS Minhaj led the BSF.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Lt Col Shah Alam Siddiqui said that under the 1975 agreement, it is illegal for Indian forces to enter 150 yards of the zero line and provide any kind of barrier.  “They violated the border law by obstructing the construction works at a 200-year-old site within 150 yards of No Man's Land.  We have strongly protested this act.”

He said the removal of BSF bunkers and the continuation of the construction work of the mosque were discussed in the meeting.  However, the BSF bunkers were not removed till the filing of this report at 8pm on Tuesday.

The Lt Col also added that there would be more flag meetings in future and that the BGB was on high alert in the border area following tension over the recent incident.

Previously, BSF obstructed the construction work of this mosque once before. The situation was resolved in a single flag meeting at that time.