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'B'desh does not harbour anti-India terrorists'

February 24, 2012 19:05 IST

Union Home minister P Chidambaram has said that the Bangladesh government has handed over names of some persons who allegedly took part in the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman who fell victim to the conspiracy hatched by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence.

He was addressing a joint press conference with his Bangladesh counterpart Shahara Khatun after delegation level talks in New Delhi on Friday. The Indian and West Bengal governments are making efforts to trace and identify them.

"Yes, we have received some names that were sent by the Bangladesh government. The same have been forwarded to WB government for further action. Though there is no extradition treaty between the two countries; if apprehended, the wanted persons would be handed over to Bangladesh government through other legal formalities,"

 Khatun said that her country does not harbour any terrorist outfits on its soil. She assured that the much-awaited extradition treaty between the two countries would be signed soon. 

"My country too is a victim of terrorism and would do everything to eradicate the menace from its soil,"she said.. 

Both Chidambaram and Khatun assured that the extradition treaty between two nations would be signed soon. The treaty would facilitate handing over of United Liberation Front of Asom leader Anup Chetia, currently lodged in a Dhaka jail, to India. 

Chidambaram said that the border killing incidents have stopped altogether. "Since January 2012, there has been no such incident. The Border Security Force has been directed to exercise restraint," he said.

Chidambaram explained that the border fencing work would be resumed soon. The Tripura government is acquiring land to fence the border. "The issue of illegal migrants came up during the talks. The government has decided to give 50,000 visas to the migrants," he said.

Onkar Singh in New Delhi