However, with the sincerity and willingness of leaders of the two countries, suspicion can be removed and steps can be taken for the benefit of people of both the countries.

To start with, India, being the largest neighbour, has to move with all Sincerity, not with statements but with the implementation of the existing agreements to build confidence among the smaller countries. Of course, it is not expected that all the outstanding agreements would be implemented in one go as this is neither possible nor expected. But a good beginning would remove suspicion gradually and instil confidence in the minds of the people. Again, care should be taken not to allow new issues to crop up. I would like to highlight a few basic points.

Firstly, it is seen that in our country hardly there is any profession where we are not divided. There is no problem in having difference of opinion but there must be unanimity in case of national issues. Alas! We are in tota disarray. It is a fact that unanimity would add strength to negotiation.

This lack of unity is being exploited by the neighbours.

However, to resolve the existing issues, the initiative has to come form India as it is somehow or other obstructing the implementation of the agreements. The list is enormous but I would like to mention only a few and the resolution of these would pave the way for the implementation of others. First and foremost is the Indira-Mujib Accord of 1974 and this needs to be resolved as soon as possible as the people in the enclave are going through immense hardship.

Presently, the Bangladeshis in the enclave can move from morning till evening and that too with some restriction. But what happens in case of an emergency at night, the Bangladeshis are totally at loss and this may even cause loss of human life. Secondly, one has to ensure equitable sharing of water of the common rivers and refrain from any undertakings in the upper riparian areas of these rivers as these may affect the flow of water. Last but not the least is elimination of the trade imbalance between these two neighbours. Of late, this has become very contentious as India on one pretext or the other creates various obstacles, namely, quality control issue, non-tariff and para-tariff issues, thereby restricting the entry of Bangladeshi goods into the Indian market. Though during the meetings of the business communities everything is agreed upon but once the trade starts then come the various bottlenecks. Recently, India has imposed restriction on export of a few consumer items even after opening of LC.

The killing of Bangladeshis by BSF is another issue that has to be resolved quickly.