Bangladesh restores telecom service along the border

New Delhi, Jan 02: Bangladesh has restored telecom services along the border. It may be recalled that the telecom regulator of Bangladesh had ordered operators to shut down services along the border. The order came in the wake of India citing security reasons.

"Please reinstate operations of the BTS (Base Trans-Receiver Stations) near the Bangladesh-India border sites immediately," an email to the BRTC read.

The mobile network coverage had been suspended for one kilometre along the entire border with India until further notice, for the sake of the country's security in the current circumstance, an official statement read.

The order gained significance in the wake of the newly amended citizenship law. Reports stated that security concerns had been raised after it was suspected that Indian Muslims may try and enter Bangladesh following the new law.

The Indian Government has repeatedly clarified that the law is not anti-Muslim. It only aims at giving citizenship to persecuted minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The minorities include the Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis, Jains and Christians. The law is not aimed at taking away the citizenship of anyone in India.