"Perhaps he [Adviser Asif] could have avoided doing it.

Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain has sharply contradicted LGRD Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiya's claim, made in a Facebook post, that the interim government cancelled at least 10 agreements with India.

"Regarding the list that has come out, most of it is not correct or don't exist," he told reporters at the foreign ministry yesterday, but did not comment if he would request Asif to refrain from making any comment on such sensitive issues.

"Perhaps he could have avoided doing it," Touhid said.

On Sunday, Asif posted on his verified Facebook page a list of 14 deals with India, saying 10 of them were cancelled by the interim government.

The deals include Tripura-Chattogram Rail Link Project; Abhaypur-Akhaura Railway Expansion' Ashuganj-Agartala Corridor; Feni River Water Management Project; Agreement on Road and Waterways Development for Use of Port; Proposal for Financial Cooperation on Farakka Embankment; Sylhet-Shilchar Link Project; Petroleum Pipeline Expansion Project; Indian Economic Zone (Mirersharai and Mongla), and Tugboat Purchase Agreement with Indian defence company GRSE.

Asif further said the Kushiara water distribution project has been suspended, while Bangladesh is reconsidering Adani Power import and Ganges water-sharing agreements and discussing the Teesta water-sharing treaty.

However, Touhid said only one agreement made with the Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers for purchase of tugboats has been cancelled because it was deemed not very profitable for Bangladesh.

Several agreements mentioned by Asif are under review, he said, but did not go into detail, saying that it is better not to talk about the matters under negotiation. A few of the remaining agreements are at various stages and not exactly under that name; some have different designations.

For example, he said there are no projects such as the Tripura-Chittagong rail link or rail track expansion in Abhaypur. Social media mentioned a project named the Ashuganj-Agartala Corridor, which does not exist. However, there is the Ashuganj-Sarail-Dharakhar project, which is currently ongoing. It is part of a package, and one portion of it has been cancelled.

There is no project called the Feni River Water Management, but there is an MoU on the withdrawal of 1.82 cusecs of water for Sabroom town in Tripura, and the MoU is still in effect, Touhid said.

The foreign adviser also said there is no project called the Kushiara Water-Sharing Project, as mentioned in the list circulating on social media. However, there is an MoU on water withdrawal signed in 2022, which has not been suspended.

There is no agreement titled Road and Waterways Development for Use of Port, but there is a deal on the use of Chittagong and Mongla ports for the movement of goods to and from India, signed in 2018. The deal is still in effect, he said.

Touhid said the ministry is not aware of any project involving Bangladesh's financial assistance for the Farakka Barrage or the Sylhet-Shilchar Link Project, as claimed to be cancelled in the social media post.

"There has been no agreement signed on the Petroleum Pipeline Expansion.

Bangladesh and India had a primary discussion on expanding the Bangladesh-India Friendship Pipeline from Numaligar of India to Parbatipur of Dinajpur of Bangladesh, but there was no agreement inked, he added.

"The social media list spoke of cancelling the Indian Economic Zone project under the Indian Line of Credit for Mongla. The process of cancellation is underway, but it has not been cancelled," the adviser said.

On import of Adani Power, Adviser Touhid said the deal with the Indian company is under review as per the High Court order. The tenure of Ganges water-sharing agreement will end next year, and Bangladesh is discussing its renewal with India.

"You know very well that the Teesta water-sharing treaty could not be signed despite all preparations in 2011," he added.

Asked what led the interim government to reconsider some agreements under the Indian Line of Credit (LoC), Touhid said a project is undertaken with the assumption that it will be profitable, but such projects are also reviewed when they do not progress properly or become stalled.

"In many cases, we haven't been able to fully utilise a Line of Credit that has arrived because of the terms and conditions attached. It happens for other countries too," he added.

"They propose projects keeping their own interests in mind. We look at whether our interests are also protected."

In certain cases of Indian credit, he said the government has seen that the conditions, especially the procurement conditions, are often not practical.

"Then we try to back away from it or don't proceed. If you review the Lines of Credit, you will see that they couldn't be implemented as quickly as anticipated," Touhid said.

The Daily Star could not reach Adviser Asif for comments, as he did not respond to our phone calls or text messages.