BANGLADESH SATISFIED WITH INDIA’S APPROVAL OF LBA BILL

DHAKA: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has expressed her satisfaction over India’s approval of the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) and termed the passage of the bill a “milestone” for the bilateral relations between the neighbours.

People on the streets of Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, also welcomed the move and considered it a good gesture to a smaller neighbour like Bangladesh.

Hasina’s press secretary AKM Shamim Chowdhury on Thursday quoted her as saying that she was hopeful that both countries would now be able to work closely for better border management.

The country’s main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which often plays antiIndia card to woo its supporters, is waiting for an elaborate response to the development. Its spokesman Asaduzzaman Ripon said his party believed Bangladesh would lose about 500 acres of land once the agreement is implemented. But he refused to elaborate and said his party would offer an official reaction after going through the details of the agreement.

Talking to HT, senior journalist and analyst Farid Hossain said India had made a great gesture by passing the LBA unanimously. “No doubt it has taken the relations between the two countries to a new height… But it is also a geo-political reality for India given China’s rising influence in the region, especially after China’s recent closer ties with Pakistan,” Hossain said.