Dhaka: Border chiefs from India and Bangladesh on April 28 began crucial three-day talks aimed at tackling cross-border issues that cause periodic tension between the two neighbours.

The visiting 16-member Indian delegation is led by Border Security Force (BSF) director general Ajai Raj Sharma and includes representatives from the Ministries of Home and External Affairs, while the host team is headed by deputy general of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) major general Mohammad Jehangir Alam Chowdhury at the meeting dubbed as "Border Conference" by the media.

The top-level border talks come after the issue of illegal immigrants threatened to snowball into a major standoff between the two countries in February.

The Indian side is likely to take up the issues of large-scale infiltration of Bangladeshis into India and operation of camps of insurgents from the Bangladeshi territory. New Delhi in 2002 handed over to Dhaka a list of 99 insurgency camps operating from Bangladesh.

The two sides are also likely to discuss measures to check smuggling of arms, ammunition and drugs on common frontiers, and the demarcation of 6.5-km-long unmarked border.

Heads of BSF and BDR are to hold border security talks once each in every six months in New Delhi and Dhaka.

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal arrives later on April 28 to hold wide-ranging talks with his Bangladesh counterpart on bilateral relations and the issues related to border.

This time Foreign Secretary-level consultations between the two neighbours are being held after a gap of nearly two and half years although they are supposed to be held annually. The last meeting was held in December 2000.

Though there is no fixed agenda, the two sides at the Foreign Secretary-level talks are likely to review programmes of bilateral co- operation, which appear to be stagnating amidst a steady downward turn in relations.

Some of the issues that could prominently figure in the talks are illegal immigration, insurgency camps operating from Bangladesh territory, free trade arrangement, commencement of the much delayed Dhaka-Agartala bus service and starting of passenger train between the two countries.

Bangladesh Foreign Minister Morshed Khan earlier said that all issues between the two neighbours would be discussed at the meeting.

While denying lack of forward movement in the relations, Khan expressed hope that New Delhi and Dhaka can overcome existing irritants between them.

Meanwhile "Odhikar", a human rights organisation has accused BSF of pushing in over 1,000 Bengali-speaking people into Bangladesh since January 2001, vernacular daily 'Bhorer Kagoj' reported.

PTI