Bangladesh opposition leader warns against India transit corridor, seeks fair Ganges water pacts

National Citizen Party (NCP) convener Nahid Islam made the remarks at a rally in Dhaka on Friday, attended by hundreds of supporters

Bangladesh's National Citizen Party (NCP) convener Nahid Islam has warned that the country would oppose any move to facilitate an Indian transit corridor through its territory and threatened fresh protests if the Ganges water-sharing treaty with India is not renewed on fair terms, according to local media reports.

Islam made the remarks at a rally in Dhaka on Friday, attended by hundreds of supporters. The rally was primarily organised to demand the resignation of Bangladesh's Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed and Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood Tuku over their alleged failure to maintain law and order and address shortages of gas and electricity.

During the rally, Islam accused Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's government of attempting to facilitate an Indian transit corridor through Bangladesh.

"Japan is trying to create a corridor through Bangladesh once again. The government is trying to hand over the illegal corridor to India. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, we want to say clearly that the people of Bangladesh will not accept any such illegal corridor," bdnews24 quoted Nahid as saying.

His remarks came after Rahman visited Japan from October 26 to 29. During the visit, the two countries agreed to upgrade their Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt (BIG-B) initiative into a new strategic cooperation framework focused on connectivity, disaster preparedness, geopolitical risks, public-private partnerships, economic growth, peace and stability.

The two sides also agreed to work towards developing the Bay of Bengal region, with Bangladesh as its hub, into a region of shared prosperity.

Japan is separately supporting the development of the Matarbari deep-sea port in southeastern Bangladesh through financing from its development agency, JICA. Japanese officials have previously outlined a broader regional connectivity vision centred on the port, envisaging an industrial value chain linking India's northeastern states with the Bay of Bengal and Southeast Asia through Bangladesh.

However, Bangladesh's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir said on Friday that no third-country issue was discussed during Rahman's visit to Japan.

"We made it very clear... no third country reference. We didn't go there to discuss the Bay of Bengal because the Bay of Bengal doesn't belong to us only," he told reporters, according to Dhaka Tribune.

Kobir said the discussions focused on the economic partnership between Bangladesh and Japan. He added that if matters involving other countries had to be discussed, representatives of those countries would need to be present at the table, UNB news agency reported.

Meanwhile, India on October 28 said it would further strengthen its partnership with Japan, including initiatives involving the northeastern states. The statement came hours after Rahman and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi agreed to enhance regional connectivity and signed agreements providing for additional Japanese assistance to Bangladesh's Matarbari deep-sea port.

"We have a very strong partnership with Japan. We also have several initiatives involving northeast [India] and Japan, and we would like to further strengthen these linkages," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in New Delhi.

Ganges water-sharing treaty

The other major India-related issue raised by Islam was the Ganges water-sharing treaty, which expires on December 12.

The NCP leader warned that Bangladeshis would take to the streets if the agreement was not renewed on fair terms.

"This time we will not give up even a single bit of our fair share in the Ganga Water Treaty," he said, according to bdnews24.

Signed on December 12, 1996, the 30-year treaty governs the sharing of Ganges waters between India and Bangladesh at the Farakka Barrage in West Bengal during the lean season, from January to May.

Bangladesh has been seeking a new or revised, longer-term agreement with a guarantee clause to protect its share of the river's waters during the dry season.

India has maintained that discussions on water-sharing and other issues concerning the 54 rivers shared by the two countries take place through the bilateral Joint Rivers Commission (JRC). Established in 1972, the commission addresses issues of mutual interest concerning common, border and transboundary rivers.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in September that technical-level meetings on the Ganges Water-Sharing Treaty had continued.