Bangladesh suspended Mobile Services

The Bangladesh government has suspended mobile networks along the borders with India, citing security reasons "in the current circumstances", a move that will affect around 10 million users in the area, according to media reports. The operators suspended the networks on Monday within one kilometre of the borders with India, the Dhaka Tribune reported.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission(BTRC), in its order to telecommunications service providers- Grameenphone,Teletalk, Robi and Banglalink- on Sunday, said network coverage in the borderareas should be suspended until further notice "for the sake of thecountry's security in the current circumstances", it said.

"A high-level meeting of the government took thisdecision, following which the instructions were issued," BTRC ChairmanJahurul Haque was quoted as saying by bdnews24, declining to give furtherexplanations.

A BTRC official was quoted as saying in the Dhaka Tribunethat around 2,000 base transceiver stations have been closed that would affectaround 10 million users in 32 districts that share a border with India andMyanmar.

According to the report, Home Minister Asaduzzaman KhanKamal and Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen expressed ignorance over thegovernment's decision.

"I do not have any such information. Let me know aboutit first and then I will comment," Mr Kamal said.

Brigadier General SM Farhad (retired), secretary-general at the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh, said, "mobile network operators in Bangladesh are compliant with government regulations; accordingly, the directive on border network coverage has already been implemented.

"This decision will certainly have an impact since alarge segment of citizens in the border areas will be out of the range of theinternet, voice and other services." The Bangladesh government's directive came days after India passed theCitizenship Amendment Act or CAA.

According to the law, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist,Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladeshand Afghanistan till December 31, 2014, following religious persecution therewill get Indian citizenship.

Reacting to the protests erupting in India over the CAA,Foreign Minister Momen on December 22 voiced concern that any"uncertainty" in India is likely to affect its neighbours. He saidthat Bangladesh has requested New Delhi to provide a list of Bangladeshinationals living illegally in India, "if any", to be repatriated.

He had also cancelled his visit to India beginning December12, hours before he was to arrive in New Delhi. However, diplomatic sources inNew Delhi had said that Mr Momen and Home Minister Khan cancelled their visitsto India over the situation arising out of the passage of the Citizenship Billin parliament.

Bangladesh was learnt to have been upset following the rollout of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam around four months ago even though India conveyed to it that the issue was an internal matter of the country.

The NRC has been prepared to identify genuine Indiancitizens living in Assam since March 24, 1971, or before, and identify illegalBangladeshi migrants in the state.Out of 3.3 crore applicants, over 19 lakh peoplewere excluded from the final NRC published on August 30.