BANGLADESH-PAKISTAN STRUGGLING TIES

No sign of improvement

Dhaka, Islamabad blame each other

There appears to be no sign of improvement in the struggling relationship between Bangladesh and Pakistan due to various reasons and Dhaka and Islamabad blame each other for the stagnant ties. Talking to high officials of the Bangladesh high commission in Islamabad and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan during a recent visit to that country, it has been learnt that there is virtually no concrete move from either side to improve the relationship, which has been experiencing a down trend for a long time. There has been hardly any high-level visit from either of the countries for a long period of time. Of course, there were very few visits from either side with regard to participation in multi-national forums.
Officials from Bangladesh have held Pakistan responsible for the current state of the relationship while Pakistani officials have shifted the blame on Bangladesh along with India. The last Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) took place in 2010 in Islamabad and the next one was scheduled to be held in Dhaka. But, it could not take place as the Pakistani side postponed it no less than three times. Though the relationship had been ‘cold’ since the assumption of the Awami League-led government in January, 2009, it has gone further down in recent times due to Pakistan’s unwarranted reaction to the executions of the some of the war criminals. Following that, Bangladesh foreign ministry summoned Pakistan’s envoy in Dhaka more than once to lodge strong protest against it. The Pakistani foreign ministry also summoned Bangladeshi envoy to make their position known. Subsequently, Bangladesh asked one of the Pakistani diplomats to leave the country while Pakistan asked one of the Bangladeshi diplomats to leave their country.
There have also been some incidents of ‘harassments’ of diplomats and staffs in both the countries. Recently, a flare was hurled at the Bangladesh deputy high commission in Karachi, although no one was injured in the incident. Of course, Bangladesh strongly protested against the incident. The latest example of the sourness of the relationship was last-minute refusal of Pakistan’s speaker of the parliament to attend the recently-concluded conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
Against such a backdrop, both the countries have become stringent in issuing visas even to the officers posted at the high commissions.
Officials of both sides told The Independent during the visit that things are relatively quite now as instances of harassments and summons have gone down.
Bangladeshi officials in Islamabad said that the Pakistani authorities now seems to be more willing than before to ensure security of the Bangladeshi missions in Islamabad and Karachi, and diplomats and staff stationed there.
“Look, we want improved relationship with every country including Pakistan as long as they do not interfere in our affairs,” Bangladesh High Commissioner to Pakistan Tarik Ahsan told The Independent.
“Working relationship is possible if we respect each other and try to understand each other,” he said, adding that sometimes such things are done by Islamabad that it gets difficult to work.
Mentioning the postponement of the FOC thrice by the Pakistan side, the envoy posed a question, “Is this the sign of intention to improve a relationship?
Referring to the recent publication of a book titled “Creation of Bangladesh: Myths Exploded” by Dr Junaid Ahmed, he said, “What have been written in the book is nothing but propaganda. How can I cultivate the relationship against such propaganda?” “I have conveyed this to Sartaj Aziz, Pakistani Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs,” he added. On Bangladesh-Pakistan relationship, Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua said that there are potentials to tap from the relationship like enhanced trade and commerce and people-to-people contacts. She admitted that like all other relationships there have been ups and downs in the relationship between Dhaka and Islamabad and expressed optimism that things will get better in the future. To a question, she said, “I am looking forward to visiting Bangladesh for the FOC with my Bangladeshi counterpart Shahidul Haque, who is a dear friend of mine.” Janjua, the first female foreign secretary of Pakistan, noted that both the peoples of Bangladesh and Pakistan can be benefited from a good bilateral relationship.

BANGLADESH-PAKISTAN STRUGGLING TIES

No sign of improvement

Dhaka, Islamabad blame each other

There appears to be no sign of improvement in the struggling relationship between Bangladesh and Pakistan due to various reasons and Dhaka and Islamabad blame each other for the stagnant ties. Talking to high officials of the Bangladesh high commission in Islamabad and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan during a recent visit to that country, it has been learnt that there is virtually no concrete move from either side to improve the relationship, which has been experiencing a down trend for a long time. There has been hardly any high-level visit from either of the countries for a long period of time. Of course, there were very few visits from either side with regard to participation in multi-national forums. Officials from Bangladesh have held Pakistan responsible for the current state of the relationship while Pakistani officials have shifted the blame on Bangladesh along with India. The last Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) took place in 2010 in Islamabad and the next one was scheduled to be held in Dhaka. But, it could not take place as the Pakistani side postponed it no less than three times. Though the relationship had been cold since the assumption of the Awami League-led government in January, 2009, it has gone further down in recent times due to Pakistans unwarranted reaction to the executions of the some of the war criminals. Following that, Bangladesh foreign ministry summoned Pakistans envoy in Dhaka more than once to lodge strong protest against it. The Pakistani foreign ministry also summoned Bangladeshi envoy to make their position known. Subsequently, Bangladesh asked one of the Pakistani diplomats to leave the country while Pakistan asked one of the Bangladeshi diplomats to leave their country. There have also been some incidents of harassments of diplomats and staffs in both the countries. Recently, a flare was hurled at the Bangladesh deputy high commission in Karachi, although no one was injured in the incident. Of course, Bangladesh strongly protested against the incident. The latest example of the sourness of the relationship was last-minute refusal of Pakistans speaker of the parliament to attend the recently-concluded conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). Against such a backdrop, both the countries have become stringent in issuing visas even to the officers posted at the high commissions. Officials of both sides told The Independent during the visit that things are relatively quite now as instances of harassments and summons have gone down. Bangladeshi officials in Islamabad said that the Pakistani authorities now seems to be more willing than before to ensure security of the Bangladeshi missions in Islamabad and Karachi, and diplomats and staff stationed there. Look, we want improved relationship with every country including Pakistan as long as they do not interfere in our affairs, Bangladesh High Commissioner to Pakistan Tarik Ahsan told The Independent. Working relationship is possible if we respect each other and try to understand each other, he said, adding that sometimes such things are done by Islamabad that it gets difficult to work. Mentioning the postponement of the FOC thrice by the Pakistan side, the envoy posed a question, Is this the sign of intention to improve a relationship? Referring to the recent publication of a book titled Creation of Bangladesh: Myths Exploded by Dr Junaid Ahmed, he said, What have been written in the book is nothing but propaganda. How can I cultivate the relationship against such propaganda? I have conveyed this to Sartaj Aziz, Pakistani Prime Ministers Adviser on Foreign Affairs, he added. On Bangladesh-Pakistan relationship, Pakistans Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua said that there are potentials to tap from the relationship like enhanced trade and commerce and people-to-people contacts. She admitted that like all other relationships there have been ups and downs in the relationship between Dhaka and Islamabad and expressed optimism that things will get better in the future. To a question, she said, I am looking forward to visiting Bangladesh for the FOC with my Bangladeshi counterpart Shahidul Haque, who is a dear friend of mine. Janjua, the first female foreign secretary of Pakistan, noted that both the peoples of Bangladesh and Pakistan can be benefited from a good bilateral relationship.