India Asks Bangladesh to Expedite Verification of Immigrants

New Delhi: India on Thursday asked Bangladesh to expedite citizenship verification to facilitate repatriation of illegal immigrants, calling it a bilateral issue.

Foreign ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said more than 2,800 citizenship verification cases were pending in Bangladesh, some for more than five years. He said India expects cooperation to ensure repatriation of illegal foreign nationals in accordance with established procedures.

These remarks come after Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s recent comments on the allegation that illegal immigrants crossing the border are being “pushed back”, prompting a reaction from Bangladesh.

Such comments should be considered in the context of the larger issue of repatriation, Jaiswal said, adding that India’s policy is to extradite illegal foreign nationals in accordance with the law and bilateral regulations. This development comes as relations between New Delhi and Dhaka under Prime Minister Tarique Rahman are improving after a tense period during the tenure of the interim government led by Mohammed Younis.