A lawmaker of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, who is member of the parliamentary standing committee on the foreign affairs ministry, on Saturday demanded that the government should submit the transit agreement with India to the committee before finalizing the deal.
Mahbub Uddin Khokon, at a meeting of the committee in the Sangsad Bhaban, also wanted to know whether the national interest was being upheld in the ongoing joint survey of the enclaves and adversely possessed lands on the borders of Bangladesh and India, said sources.
The foreign affairs secretary told the committee that both the Bangladeshi and Indian governments had in principle agreed to sign the transit deal but the details were yet to be finalised.
'Transit is a touchy issue. I demanded that the draft of the deal should be placed before the parliamentary standing committee before being finalised so that the people could be informed of its terms and conditions,' Khokon told New Age after the meeting.
He said that it should be clearly specified in the agreement that the transit should not be used for India's military activities.
'I also wanted to know about the ongoing survey of the adversely possessed lands and enclaves and the census being carried out there,' said Khokon, adding that the Bangladeshi people are waging a movement to protect their nation's interest.
The committee's chairman, Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali, told New Age that the foreign secretary had informed the meeting that the transit agreement was yet to be finalised and the number of people in the adversely possessed lands and enclaves was being counted.
'The agreement will be submitted to the committee after it is finalized,' he said, adding that the draft agreements are usually not sent to the committees concerned.
Awami League lawmaker Mostafa Faruque Mohammed told New Age that the BNP member wanted to be apprised of the present situation of the survey and census in the enclaves and the foreign secretary had informed them of the latest developments.
He also said that the foreign secretary had told them that the former Bangladesh high commissioner to Australia, Masud Uddin Ahmed, would return to the country.
'Although the foreign ministry returned him to the army on June 23, the Armed Forces Division extended his service for three more months only,' he said, quoting the foreign secretary.
Committee members Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, Emaj Uddin Pramanik, Imran Ahmed, Nilufar Zafar Ullah, Hossain Makbul Shahriar, foreign affairs minister Dipu Moni and top officials of the ministry were present the meeting.
Source : New Age
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