India has right to respond to attack on sovereignty: Bangladesh

Bangladesh has backed the "surgical strikes" conducted by the Indian Army on terrorist launch pads in Pakistan-held Kashmir, saying India has got "all legal, internationally accepted right" to respond to any attack on its sovereignty and territory.

The statement from Iqbal Chowdhury, Advisor to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, comes as Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar briefed 22 foreign envoys, including those from the UN Security Council Permanent-5 countries, about the cross-LoC strikes conducted by the Indian Army on Wednesday night.

"India has got all legal, internationally accepted right to make a response to any attack on her sovereignty and her soil," Chowdhury said.

He said the Kashmir issue "has been a long, continued dispute, and there has been a violation from the other side".

Chowdhury said: "Bangladesh always believes that any aggression or attack on the sovereignty of the independence and legal right of a country is not acceptable and Bangladesh always feels that any country must honour and respect the sovereignty of a third country."

"After Sheikh Hasina came to power, she had asserted that Bangladeshi soil will not be allowed to house any terrorist group and to plan or organise any attack or activity on the Indian side, and has been very committed on this point that there is zero tolerance to any type of activity.

"I think that the Indian government and the people have all the right to rebuff and to combat any type of aggression from any quarter whether it is from a neighbouring country," he added.

The reaction from Dhaka comes two days after the country pulled out of the coming Saarc summit in Islamabad, citing interference in its affairs. India too pulled out from the summit, citing growing terrorism and interference in the region by "one country". Bhutan and Afghanistan too have pulled out.

The surgical strikes come in the wake of the September 18 terror strike on Uri, in Jammu and Kashmir, that left 18 soldiers dead. India has blamed Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed for the strikes.

--IANS

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