You’re not alone

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reassured his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina that his country would stand by Bangladesh and extend all help in its fight against extremism.
‘You are not alone in your fight against terror. India will always fully support you in your efforts to fight this menace,’ Modi said while inaugurating the India-Bangladesh Integrated Check Post along Benapole-Petrapole border through a video call with Hasina.
Hasina joined the videoconference from her official residence Ganabhaban while Modi from his New Delhi office to open the facility at Bangladesh’s biggest land-port with India.
‘Emphasised on why India’s development journey must benefit our neighbours & rich potential of India-Bangladesh,’ Modi tweeted about the videoconference with the Bangladesh prime minister.
Besides, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee joined the videoconference from her Kolkata office.
Modi thanked Mamata for joining the inaugural programme and appreciated her role in ‘improving India-Bangladesh ties, according to a tweet of the Indian prime minister’s office.
The prime minister of India expressed his deepest condolences on the recent attacks on Bangladesh, another Indian PMO tweet mentioned.
Both the leaders hoped that the opening of the integrated check-post would boost bilateral trade and promote people-to-people ties.
India earlier assured Bangladesh of all cooperation in strengthening democracy and containing extremism after the deadliest extremist attacks on a restaurant at Gulshan diplomatic zone in Dhaka and a police checkpoint near a the country’s largest Eid congregation at Sholakia in Kishoreganj.
The attack on the Gulshan restaurant killed 22 people including 17 foreigners and two police officers on July 1. Six suspects were killed in an army-led operation on the following day.
Just in a week after the attack on the Gulshan restaurant, the extremist attack on police checkpoint at Sholakia killed four people including two cops on July 7.
Modi said it was very much painful for the people of India that extremists unleashed attacks in Dhaka and Kishoreganj alongside on temples, priests and common people during the holy month of Ramadan, United News of Bangladesh reported.
Foreign minister AH Mahmood Ali, shipping minister Shajahan Khan, home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, prime minister’s foreign affairs adviser Gowher Rizvi, prime minister’s principal secretary Md Abul Kalam Azad and Indian high commissioner in Dhaka Harsh Vardhan Shringla were present at Ganabhaban during the videoconference.
Extending sympathy and condolences of the Indian nation to the family members of the innocent victims of the extremist attacks, the Indian prime minister said, ‘The entire India is beside you [Hasina] in this toughest time.’
Modi said the inauguration of Petrapole checkpoint will not only promote bilateral trade but also boost economic growth of both the countries. ‘Eight such integrated checkpoints along Indo-Bangladesh border will set up in the future,’ UNB quoted Modi as saying.
He said the Petrapole-Benapole land border crossing was important one for India and Bangladesh as 50 per cent of the bilateral trade passes through this while trade worth more than Rs 15,000 crore took place through Petrapole in 2015-16.
Besides, some 15 lakh people travel through these two land ports every year.
Petrapole ICP aims at providing better facilities for effective and efficient discharge of functions such as security, immigration and customs. It will also provide facilities to support smooth cross-border movement of people, goods and transport.
In her speech, Sheikh Hasina termed the event another special and memorable day for Bangladesh and India, saying it would open up a new horizon in cooperation of bilateral relations in the region. ‘The day is also very significant in terms of mutual exchange between Bangladesh and India,’ she noted.
Terming inter-country trade as the main driving force for domestic economy, Hasina said Bangladesh-India bilateral relations were very important for such transnational trade.
She mentioned that the governments of both the countries had already taken various initiatives to further boost the trade ties between the two countries and make the relations sustainable.
About the impact of the newly built integrated check posts, Hasina said it would not only expand trade and commerce but also play a role in strengthening connectivity between the two countries.
She recalled with gratitude the contribution of India to Bangladesh’s War of Liberation in 1971. ‘We would never forget the contribution of the government and the people of India in 1971.’
Mamata said her state government had taken a decision to set up a police station at Petrapole to maintain law and order in the area, according to the UNB report.
The Integrated Check Post at the Akhaura-Agartala border point was the first of the seven Land Custom Stations along the Bangladesh-India border, being upgraded by the Land Port Authority of India.