Pakistan, Bangladesh revive high-level talks after 15 years
- 18 hours ago
Foreign ministry officials from Pakistan and Bangladesh's interim government resumed high-level diplomatic talks after a 15-year gap, as the two nations attempted to ease strained relations.
Under former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted in August in a students-led mass uprising, Bangladesh expanded relations with neighbouring India in every sector. But ties with India have become increasingly tense. Bangladesh’s interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, has criticised India for sheltering Hasina in the country and sought her extradition without any positive response from India.
Yunus has meanwhile sought to improve relations with Pakistan. In recent months he met Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif several times, and a high-level Bangladeshi military delegation made a rare visit to Pakistan in January and held talks with Pakistan’s army chief General Asim Munir. In February, Bangladesh's navy took part in a multinational maritime exercise organized by Pakistan off the Karachi coast.
After Hasina’s exit, Bangladesh and Pakistan resumed direct trading for the first time in years. Direct flights between the countries are expected to resume soon and visa procedures have been eased while India stopped visas for Bangladeshis, except for medical emergencies.
After Thursday's talks in Dhaka between Bangladesh’s Foreign Secretary Jashim Uddin and his Pakistani counterpart, Uddin said Bangladesh raised historically "unsettled issues” with Pakistan, including a formal public apology for atrocities allegedly committed by Pakistani troops in 1971 during Bangladesh's war of independence.
Local media reported earlier that Yunus' government was preparing to formally raise its demand for $4.52 billion in financial compensation from Pakistan. Uddin said the issue of the compensation was raised in Thursday’s meeting.
"These issues need to be resolved for having a solid foundation of our relations,” Uddin said Thursday. The two sides also discussed expansion of trade and commerce and increasing cooperation in agriculture and other sectors, he added. Yunus’ office said in a statement late on Thursday that he held a separate meeting with the Pakistani foreign secretary and emphasised "strengthening ties with Pakistan to boost mutual cooperation and explore trade and business potentials.” "There are certain hurdles. We have to find ways to overcome those and move forward,” Yunus told Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch.
Baloch said Bangladesh and Pakistan must find ways to "harness the potentials between the two countries," the statement said.
Agence France-Presse