For neighborly trust

A solemn expression of regret by the Bangladesh Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, over the heinous action against India's security personnel, suspected to have been perpetrated by her country's security guards, can serve as a meaningful step towards the restoration of trust between the two neighbors.

Despicable indeed was the apparent manner in which some units of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) had either themselves tortured or allowed others to brutally assault several men belonging to India's Border Security Force (BSF) before killing them during the latest skirmish on the boundary between the two friendly countries.

A tense calm now prevails on the frontier following a conscious agreement between New Delhi and Dhaka to defuse the crisis arising out of the firefights that suddenly flared up between the BDR and the Bangladesh Army, on one side, and the BSF, on the other.

The two sides seem convinced that status quo has been restored on the border at this time as a result of the withdrawals by both from the pockets of territory that they occupied during the latest operations.

Given the unprecedented scope of this appalling turn of events, Sheikh Hasina has struck the right note, even if somewhat belatedly, by telephoning the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, to express her sorrow and to assure him of her determination to conduct a full and thorough investigation of all aspects of the trouble on the border as also the related incidents.

While her offer is a welcome gesture in a bleak ambience, it still remains to be seen how far she will be able to convince her bitter political opponents at home that she made a right move towards India at the right moment.

However, Sheikh Hasina seems to have reckoned that nothing should override the civilized imperative of investigating the deplorable condition in which mutilated bodies of slain BSF men were handed over to the Indian side.

Sheikh Hasina may have exposed herself to a fresh round of domestic criticism about her alleged India-friendly disposition of a deferential kind.

To this extent, her virtual apology is a testimony to her political courage ahead of a prospective general election. More significant, though, is the sign that her telephonic call and India's conspicuous restraint have defused a potentially explosive situation.

-- The Hindu, New Delhi