By NNN-PTI,
Dhaka : The US said “mistrust” in Indo-Bangla ties stymied potential counter terrorism cooperation between the two neighbouring countries sharing long porous borders.
“Although the caretaker government (in Bangladesh) made a concerted effort to crack down on corruption and address the root causes of violent extremism within its borders, mistrust between Bangladesh and India stymied potential counter terrorism cooperation between the two countries,” said a US State Department report released in Washington.
It said Bangladesh’s porous borders and internal political strife “threatened the progress made against violent extremists” while the absence of Dhaka-New Delhi counter terrorism cooperation fuels mutual allegations.
“The absence of counter terrorism cooperation between India and Bangladesh fuelled mutual allegations that each country facilitated terrorism inside the borders of the other,” the report, released earlier this week, said.
The Congressionally mandated Country Reports on Terrorism 2007 said India continued to allege that separatist United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and other anti-India insurgent groups operated from Bangladesh with the knowledge of senior Bangladeshi government officials.
India also blamed the terrorist group Harakat ul-Jihadi-Islami-Bangladesh (HUJI-B) for bomb attacks in the city of Hyderabad in May and August. Bangladesh strongly denied these allegations, it said.