New Delhi, August 12: Retired Major General PK Sehgal, a defense expert, discussed the importance of India-Bangladesh relations, issues of infiltration from Bengal, visa policies, and healthcare facilities in a recent interview. He also commented on U.S. Ambassador Sergio Gore’s remarks and the Ministry of External Affairs’ statement regarding Arunachal Pradesh.
Recently, India’s Ambassador to Bangladesh, Dinesh Trivedi, met with Prime Minister Tariq Rahman. Sehgal emphasized, “There is no doubt that the Prime Minister of Bangladesh clearly understands that India is essential for Bangladesh. Relations between the two countries deteriorated significantly during the Yunus government. He is well aware that contact with India is vital for the country’s economic stability and that India is the only route for connecting with the world.”
He further noted the significance of shared water resources, the 4,000-kilometer-long Line of Control, national security, immigration, trade, and the flow of rivers from India to Bangladesh. He stated that India could create considerable challenges but highlighted that the most sensitive issue remains the extradition of Sheikh Hasina. “As far as I know, India will not extradite Hasina under any circumstances,” he added.
Sehgal pointed out that Bangladesh has maintained its relations with Pakistan. During Yunus’s tenure, the friendship between Pakistan and Bangladesh grew to the extent that Pakistan wanted to develop an airfield area around the Chicken Neck region. They aimed to provide drones and tankers to Bangladesh. However, Bangladesh has now realized that India is much closer, while Pakistan is thousands of miles away, and in times of trouble, India will be the first to offer assistance.
Regarding Bangladesh-China relations, he mentioned that Bangladesh seeks strategic ties with China, primarily to utilize its infrastructure development capabilities. In addition to the meeting with the Indian Ambassador, the head of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Parag Jain, also met with Rahman, indicating that several strategic and security issues were discussed.
Sehgal concluded, “China has a habit of renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh, especially mountain passes, lakes, and other strategically important locations. They believe that when border disputes arise in the future, these Chinese claims will be strengthened. India has also released a new map that assigns Indian names to 27 significant locations, including passes and lakes.”
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