Pak. hand in border clash?

By Atul Aneja

NEW DELHI, APRIL 19. Taken aback by the excessive use of force by the Bangladesh paramilitary forces, the security establishment here today engaged in a major brainstorming exercise to ascertain the motives behind the border clash with India.

The Government is working on two key ``hypothesis'', but is likely to view the incident in clearer light after analysing the information that is likely to filter in during the next couple of days. It is now clear that 15 Border Security Force (BSF) personnel lost their lives while Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) lost four. In the mortar firing by the BDR, four Indian civilians were also killed

An influential section of the Bangladesh press has so far attributed the clash to the BSF's unilateral decision to construct a road towards Pyrdiwah on Meghalaya's border with Bangladesh in violation of the 1975 Indo-Bangladesh agreement.

Highly-placed Government sources said the clash was out of sync with the confidence-building measures which the two sides had undertaken recently. In fact, prevention of border firing was specifically taken up during the three-day meeting between the Director-General, Bangladesh Rifles, Major General A.I.M Fazlur Rahman, which concluded on April 1. Expressing concern over the frequent exchange of firing along a segment of the Indo- Bangladesh border in Tripura, the two sides had agreed to exercise ``maximum restraint.''

They had also specifically taken up the issue of boundary demarcation in the Muhuri Char sector, another trouble spot. The Director-General, BSF, Mr. Gurbachan Jagat, had, at the meeting, responded positively to the reiteration by the Bangladesh side to fix a interim boundary in the zone, pending completion of border demarcation.

The meeting had been preceded by detailed talks in the Ministries of Home and External affairs and had imparted a momentum to the relationship.

According to one assessment, the Awami League Government, in order to shake off its excessive pro-India image, may have given its nod to the firing in order to draw benefits during the forthcoming polls.

The Government was also examining a possible link-up between the firing and recent developments in Nepal. Sources said the clash may have been an expression of ``retaliation'' by sections of the Pakistani establishment. Islamabad held India responsible for the recent souring of its relations with Nepal by masterminding events which led to the detention of its first secretary, Mr. Mohammad Arshad Cheema, with 16 Kgs of RDX which was retrieved from his rented accommodation.

Consequently, Pakistan could have activated its ``sympathisers'' within the Bangladesh security forces at the local level, resulting in the clash. Despite Bangladesh's liberation, the Pakistanis had never lost their influence in the country. The Jamat-e-Islami had been traditionally close to them and the Islamic Okiya Jote (IOJ) has emerged as an alliance of religious extremists in Bangladesh. The presence of the Jehadi Harkat-ul- Jehad-al-Islami has also become perceptible.

Sources here said though the Sheikh Hasina Government had a firm hold on the Bangladesh army, including the key nine division in Dhaka and 11 division located at Bojra, the emergence of middle- ranking officers from religious schools, had become cause for concern.

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