Bangladesh NCP opposes India transit corridor, urges Ganges pact — SkimNews
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- Nahid Islam told hundreds at an October 30, 2026 rally in Dhaka that the government is trying to hand an "illegal corridor" to India, adding that "Japan is trying to create a corridor through Bangladesh once again."
- Salahuddin Ahmed and Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood Tuku were the rally's principal targets, with NCP demanding their resignations over alleged failures to maintain law and order and shortages of gas and electricity.
- Ganges Water-Sharing Treaty renewal was Nahid Islam's second line of attack: he threatened fresh protests if it is not renewed on terms protecting Bangladesh's share, vowing not to give up "a single bit" of fair share.
- Farakka Barrage: the 30-year pact signed December 12, 1996 governs lean-season (January–May) flows there in West Bengal and expires December 12, 2026; Bangladesh wants a longer-term replacement with a guarantee clause, and India says technical-level talks continue through the 1972 Joint Rivers Commission covering 54 shared rivers.
- Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt was upgraded into a new strategic cooperation initiative during Tarique Rahman's October 26–29, 2026 Japan visit, covering connectivity, disaster preparedness, geopolitical risks, public-private partnerships and peace and stability, with Bangladesh cast as the region's hub.
- Humaiun Kobir said no third-country issue was discussed during Rahman's Japan visit, that talks focused on the Bangladesh-Japan economic partnership, and that third-country matters would require those countries' representatives at the table.
- JICA is financing the Matarbari deep-sea port in southeastern Bangladesh, the hub of a Japanese-backed value chain linking India's northeastern states with the Bay of Bengal and Southeast Asia; India said on October 28 it would deepen Japan ties involving the northeast.
Why it matters: With the 1996 treaty expiring on December 12 — covering lean-season flows at Farakka Barrage from January to May — Bangladesh's foreign minister Humaiun Kobir says no third-country corridor was discussed in Tokyo, undercutting the opposition claim that Japan is trying to hand the country to India. The dry-season water share is now the concrete stake in a December deadline.
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