Umroi: Bangladesh’s Army Major General, Chowdhury Mohammed Aizizul Haque Hazary, on Monday said, Bangladesh was never a safe-haven for militants and asserted that there is no space for militancy on the soil of Bangladesh.
“I can say it (Bangladesh) was never a safe-haven, it is a country that gained Independence through liberation war. And our Prime Minister (Sheikh Hasina) as repeatedly says that there is no space for militancy in Bangladesh soil,” Hazary said.
“If you talk about this (safe haven) we both the countries (India and Bangladesh) has military cooperation which includes intelligence sharing and at state-level also there is very a good cooperation, and both the countries are on the same footing to curb militancy,” he added.
Hazary, the General Officer Commanding of 17 Division and the Area Commander of Sylhet Area, was participating in the 11th edition of bilateral Military Exercise SAMPRITI-XI between India and Bangladesh at the Joint Training Node, Umroi here in Meghalaya.
The Bangladesh contingent consisted of 170 soldiers of 52 Infantry Brigade and Indian contingent comprised of 170 soldiers of 15th Battalion The Rajput Regiment from 66 Mountain Brigade participated in the joint exercise which started from October 3 and concluded on Monday.
When asked, the Bangladesh Army officer said, “there can be Jamaat but militants don’t come from one single field and they can come from anywhere. But whenever we feel such threats the army is combat ready to minimise and neutralize that threat and when it is necessary we take the support of our Indian friends.”
Indian army’s Major General Ajay Feroze Shah, General Officer Commanding of 20 Mountain Division, lauded the bonhomie and the integration between the two forces during the joint exercise further enhancing their capabilities.
“Any army is prepared for any contingencies and both armies are always ready in all forms,” Shah said.
Indo-Bangladesh joint exercise is organise on annual basis, alternate by India and Bangladesh on reciprocity basis under the exercise name SAMPRITI.
