THE report that India and Bangladesh are going to sign an extradition treaty in January is no doubt a positive development which should help the two neighbours resolve the issue of cross-border movement of criminals. They have also agreed to have a more flexible visa regime….

It is no secret that criminals can easily cross … the … border and find sanctuary in a vast country like India. …The task of maintaining law and order in the country becomes more complicated when criminals can operate from a distance and issue directives to their cohorts living in this country.

There are problems related to law and order that the two sides can try to resolve by cooperating with each [other]. For example, smugglers and human traffickers usually have their networks spread over the entire South Asian region. The extradition treaty will make it easier for the law enforcement agencies to trace and hand over such elements to the country of their origin.

Crimes of some denominations are no longer restricted to any particular place or country. …The extradition pact will remove the legal complications that arise when a request comes from one side to hand over a suspected criminal….

A more flexible visa regime which will be effective after the agreement … is signed is needed to uphold the spirit of friendship between Bangladesh and India. Bangladeshis planning to visit India have been finding the visa process a bit too cumbersome and this is especially true about patients seeking treatment in Indian hospitals…. —(Dec 18)