Visiting Bangladesh Home Minister Shahara Khatun on Friday expressed the hope that the much-awaited extradition treaty between Dhaka and New Delhi would be signed soon and asserted that her country did not harbour any anti-India terrorist on its soil.
At a joint press conference here with her Indian counterpart P. Chidambaram, she said: “Bangladesh will not tolerate any anti-India activity on its soil. We have not allowed in the past, nor will we in the future. Both countries are victims of terrorism. So, there is no question of harbouring anyone.'' She said joint efforts were needed to eliminate terrorists.
Mr. Chidambaram said the extradition pact was in the final stages of consideration by the Bangladesh government and that it was “moving forward.”
The treaty would facilitate the handing over of ULFA leader Anup Chetia, now in a Dhaka jail, to India.
Mr. Chidambaram described the bilateral meeting as extremely cordial and fruitful. India-Bangladesh relations have touched a new high, he noted.
The issues discussed at the delegation-level meeting include border management, mutual legal assistance treaty, repatriation of prisoners and visa-related issues.
“We hope that the few outstanding issues will be resolved soon. Good relations are a continuous process. As we move forward, there will be more opportunities to work together. We will identify difficulties and overcome them,'' he said.
On the problem of illegal migration from Bangladesh, he said it was no longer a big issue, as last year India had permitted a lot of Bangladesh nationals to travel here. “There is no reason for any Bangladeshi to cross over illegally. But I do admit that some crossings do take place. We have to strengthen the border management. We have identified the border outposts that are vulnerable and both sides will strengthen border management in these outposts.''
