The wait for the verdict on the maritime boundary dispute between Bangladesh and India gets longer as the Netherlands-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is unlikely to deliver its judgment today (Wednesday), reports UNB.
Till Tuesday afternoon, there had been no official confirmation about the verdict that was expected to be delivered on Wednesday.
An official here, preferring anonymity, expressed his apprehension that the verdict might not come out today (Wednesday) as the Foreign Ministry was yet to be informed about the matter officially.
The date of the verdict was subject to reconfirmation one week before the actual date (July 2).
During Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's Dhaka visit, Indian spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told reporters that both India and Bangladesh were committed to abiding by the outcome of the legal process.
He also gave assurance that India would fulfill the requirement in line with the outcome, whatever the outcome was as both the countries went to the process 'voluntarily.' "We're committed to abiding by the outcome of that process…both of us…we'll wait for that outcome and act accordingly."
Bangladesh expects, as State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam told Parliament on February 5, to have control over nearly 25,000 square kilometres of maritime areas if it wins the case related to the Bay of Bengal maritime boundary dispute between Bangladesh and India.
"We'll be able to know exactly how much area we'll get, once the final verdict comes out…we're expecting that it'll be within 25,000 square kilometres," he informed the House while responding to a supplementary question from Habibur Rahman Mollah (Dhaka-5) on the day.
The hearing on the case related to the Bay of Bengal maritime boundary dispute between Bangladesh and India concluded at the PCA in December last year.
The hearing was held from December 9 to December 18 at the Peace Palace in The Hague, it said.
Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali and Attorney General of India Goolam E Vahanvati made opening statements on behalf of the parties.
Later, the agent of Bangladesh and former Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni made introductory remarks.
Lawrence Martin, Prof Philippe Sands QC, Prof Payam Akhavan, Paul Reichler, Prof Alan Boyle, and Prof James Crawford SC argued on behalf of Bangladesh. Bangladesh's first round of arguments concluded on December 10.
