'Push-ins unacceptable': Dhaka cries foul as India sends back illegal Bangladeshis, warns of military intervention

Bangladeshi nationals temporarily residing in India head back to Bangladesh with their belongings at the India-Bangladesh border of Petrapole about 100km north east of Kolkata on August 6, 2024.

India's decisive actions against illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and Rohingya infiltrators have prompted a sharp response from Bangladesh, with its army labelling these deportations as "push-ins" and warning of potential military intervention.

Brigadier General Md Nazim-ud-Daula, the director of the Military Operations Directorate (MOD), termed as “unacceptable” the “pushing in” of undocumented people by Indian authorities, and threatened to intervene if the need arose. He said the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) was handling the situation well for now.

India has intensified its efforts to identify and deport Bangladeshi nationals residing illegally within its borders, handing them over to BGB personnel. A 2016 government estimate puts the number of illegal immigrants in India at around 20 million.

Dhaka has referred to this process as “pushing in” and criticized the approach, asserting that it will repatriate Indians living illegally in Bangladesh through established diplomatic procedures.

Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry has formally requested India to cease these "push-ins," emphasizing the need for enhanced coordination between the two countries' border forces. However, this appeal overlooks the fact that these deportations are of individuals who have violated Indian immigration laws.

Brigadier General Md Nazim-ud-Daula made the remarks while addressing a press conference at Army headquarters in Dhaka, where he sought to quell the reports on the alleged rift between Bangladesh interim chief Muhammad Yunus and Army Chief Waqer-uz-Zaman.

The Army rushed to damage control amid political instability in the country, with Yunus recently suggesting that he was mulling to step down.

There have been reports of discord between the military and the interim government over the possible timeline for holding the parliamentary elections and other policy issues related to Bangladesh’s security affairs, particularly involving a proposed humanitarian corridor of aid channel to Myanmar’s rebel-held Rakhine state.

Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman along with the Navy and Air Force chiefs met Yunus last week and reportedly reiterated their call for election by December this year to allow an elected government to take charge. They also conveyed their reservation about the corridor issue.

The next day, Zaman held a senior officers meeting at Dhaka Cantonment and said he was unaware about the government’s several strategic decisions despite the military’s active role.

The military also decided to be tough against rampant incidents of “mob justice.”

Yunus on Saturday held an unscheduled closed-door meeting of the Advisory Council which later said in a statement that they discussed in detail the “three primary responsibilities entrusted to the interim government – elections, reforms, and justice.”

“The council discussed how unreasonable demands, deliberately provocative and jurisdictionally overreaching statements, and disruptive programmes have been continuously obstructing the normal functioning environment and creating confusion and suspicion among the public,” it read.

The statement said despite all obstacles, the interim government continued to fulfill its responsibilities by putting national interests above group interests.

Yunus on Saturday also held back to back meetings with former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islam and student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) that was floated in February visibly with his blessings in an apparent effort to rally their support for his reform agenda and election issues.

The chief adviser’s office said leaders of 20 more left-leaning, moderate and Islamic parties also called on Yunus on Sunday.

But BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman, who lives in London, in a virtual meeting on Sunday said in the end no plan of the interim government would be effective keeping “political parties and the people in the dark.”

Rahman said his party and others reiterated their demands for announcement of a clear date for the national election while “BNP demands that the national election be held by December.”