Dhaka, Feb 12: Bangladesh interim government led by Muhammad Yunus is scheduled to attend the 6th Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit in Bangkok, Thailand, from April 2-4.

This gives hope for the first-ever in-person meeting between Yunus and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the summit.

There is still a possibility that the two leaders can meet, taking advantage of the BIMSTEC platform, however, nothing is finalised yet, a Bangladeshi official was quoted as saying by the country’s leading daily, Prothom Alo.

Bangladesh will take as the next chair of BIMSTEC at the summit.

“As the chair, Bangladesh will have the opportunity to lead BIMSTEC, take initiatives for cooperation in different sectors by working together in tandem with all the member states, and this will be an opportunity for Bangladesh to re-demonstrate its commitment to the world,” BIMSTEC Secretary General Indra Mani Pandey was quoted as saying by Bangladesh’s leading newspaper, The Dhaka Tribune.

Thailand is set to host the summit in Bangkok. BIMSTEC is a regional organisation that was established in 1997 with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration.

Initially known as BIST-EC (Bangladesh-India-Sri Lanka-Thailand Economic Cooperation), the regional grouping expanded and came to be known as BIMSTEC and comprises seven member states with the admission of Myanmar in December 1997 and Bhutan and Nepal in February 2004.

BIMSTEC is often considered an alternative regional bloc to the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC). With SAARC in a dormant stage, India initiated the idea of propelling BIMSTEC to enhance regional cooperation.

India’s interest in BIMSTEC aligns with PM Modi’s Act East Policy, which is a diplomatic initiative to enhance economic, strategic and cultural relations across Southeast Asia.

The anticipated meeting between Yunus and PM Modi assumes significance due to the rapid downslide in bilateral ties between the two South Asian neighbours after the removal of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina through an orchestrated coup on August 5 last year.

Hasina has since been taking refuge in India, and the Chief Advisor of Bangladesh’s interim government, Muhammad Yunus, is in charge of the nation. This has led to the Indo-Bangla relationship rapidly nosedived.

The continuous mob violence, vandalism, and persecution of Hindus under the interim regime in Bangladesh witnessed further stalemate in the relations.

Amidst frosty ties, the BIMSTEC summit is seen as a possibility to reset the relationship between India and Bangladesh and reduce diplomatic differences.

However, all will depend on how the interim government works towards the restoration of democracy and safeguarding the rights of minorities.

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a terror attack threat ahead of his two-day US visit, Mumbai Police said on Wednesday. The police control received the threat call on Tuesday, February 11 as the PM was leaving on an official visit abroad. The person who made the call was arrested. As per the Mumbai Police, he is mentally ill.

“On 11th February, a call was received at Mumbai Police Control Room warning that terrorists may attack PM Modi’s aircraft as he was leaving on an official visit abroad. Considering the serious nature of the information, the Police informed other agencies and began an investigation, the police said in a statement.

The accused was arrested from Mumbai’s Chembur area. “The person who made the threat call to the Mumbai Police Control Room has been taken into custody from the Chembur area. He is mentally ill,” the police added.

Notably, PM Modi embarked on his visit to France and the United States on February 10. He co-chaired the AI Summit on Tuesday. The Prime Minister is set to depart for the US on Wednesday, February 12.

Jammu, Feb 11: Two soldiers including an officer were killed on Tuesday in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast during patrolling near the Line of Control (LoC) fence in J&K’s Akhnoor sector.

A Defence Ministry Spokesman said that the suspected improvised explosive device blast was reported in Lalaeli in the Akhnoor sector during a fence patrol resulting in two fatalities.

“Troops are dominating the area and search operations are underway. White Knight Corps salutes and pays tribute to the supreme sacrifice by two gallant soldiers,” said the Spokesperson.

He added that a captain rank officer is also among the two martyred soldiers.

“It was not immediately known whether the IED had been planted by the terrorists or was it due to the accidental stepping on an anti-infiltration landline planted by the army close to the LoC fence that resulted in the tragedy,” he said.

The Spokesperson said that last week, five terrorists were killed in a landmine explosion when they tried to infiltrate into the Indian side of the LoC in Rajouri district.

“One of the infiltrating terrorists stepped on an anti-infiltration landmine in the area close to the LoC fence. The landmine had exploded killing all the five Pakistani terrorists,” he said.

He further added that in another incident last week in Poonch district, terrorists from across the LoC fired at the patrolling soldiers after which the alert soldiers returned the fire thereby thwarting another infiltration attempt.

He said that Patrolling by the army near the LoC and by the security forces in the hinterland has been further intensified after a top-level security review meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah last week.

The Union Home Minister directed that the security forces should ensure zero infiltration and zero tolerance towards terrorists in J&K.

The Spokesperson said that there are reports that because of less snowfall this winter, all the infiltration routes of the terrorists are open and this has necessitated heightened vigil by the army deployed along the LoC.