Name: Pakistan, Bangladesh in ‘quiet’ diplomacy to ease decades of acrimony
Brand: arabnews.com
SKU: arabnews-com-35
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Pakistan, Bangladesh in ‘quiet’ diplomacy to ease decades of acrimony

preview

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during a summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation(OIC) in Makkah. (Files/AFP)https://arab.news/mhqpmISLAMABAD/DHAKA: As India’s relations with its neighbors in the South Asian region deteriorate, old foes Pakistan and&nbsp;Bangladesh&nbsp;are making a push to build diplomatic, economic and cultural ties that could upend decades of historic arrangements in the region, officials and experts in Islamabad and Dhaka have said.Indeed, a number of recent diplomatic developments have hinted at a thaw in a long-troubled Pakistan-Bangladesh&nbsp;equation.Prime Minister Imran Khan invited his&nbsp;Bangladeshi counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, to visit Islamabad in a rare call earlier this month that came just weeks after a “quiet” meeting between Pakistan’s high commissioner to Dhaka, Imran Ahmed Siddiqui, and&nbsp;Bangladeshi Foreign Minister A. K. Abdul Momen.&nbsp;Relations between the two countries have never recovered from the 1971 war when Bengali nationalists, backed by India, broke away from what was then West Pakistan to form a new country.Ties reached a new low in 2016 when&nbsp;Bangladesh&nbsp;executed several leaders of its Jamaat-e-Islami party on charges of committing war crimes in 1971. Pakistan called the executions and trials “politically motivated,” arguing that they were related to the pro-Pakistan stance of the convicts during the war. But now, officials on both sides say it is time for a reset.“We look forward to having a sustained dialogue with the government of&nbsp;Bangladesh&nbsp;on how best our bilateral relations can move forward on a positive trajectory,” Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui told Arab News on Thursday. “We hope to work and take forward our relations, whether it’s trade, culture and all other mutual areas.”Ambassador Siddiqui declined to give details of his meeting with Momen but told Arab News that the aim of the huddle was “to further promote bilateral relations with a forward-looking approach” given a desire from both sides to strengthen ties, particularly through private-sector partnerships.“The younger generation is especially keen to forge meaningful ties. There is a huge potential in bilateral economic and commercial cooperation,” he said. “The two sides may work together to realize this potential with a focus on bringing our respective private sectors closer.” Mohammad Ruhul Alam Siddique,&nbsp;Bangladesh’s high commissioner-designate to Pakistan, also said that he aimed to improve trade and commercial ties between the two nations during his tenure.“My only mission will be to better the bilateral relations as much as possible while delivering services in Pakistan,” he said, saying his first task in the coming weeks would be to reduce the trade imbalance between the two countries.According to the State Bank of Pakistan, Pakistan’s exports to&nbsp;Bangladesh&nbsp;reached $736 million in 2019, while&nbsp;Bangladesh’s exports to Pakistan were only $44 million.Pakistan and&nbsp;Bangladesh’s embrace comes at a time when relations between India and many countries in the region are unraveling.Last month, the Indian army said that at least 20 of its soldiers were killed after hand-to-hand fighting with Chinese troops at a disputed border site, the deadliest clashin decades.Relations between the two countries have never recovered from the 1971 war when Bengali nationalists, backed by India, broke away from what was then West Pakistan to form a new country.India also has increasingly tense ties with Nepal over disputed land — about 372 square km — strategically located at the tri-junction between Nepal, India and the Tibet region of China. India has kept a security presence in the area since a border war with China in 1962.Pakistan and India have also warred for decades over the disputed Kashmir region, which both claim in full and rule in part.“We see there are problems (of India) with China in the border region, problems with Nepal, some problems with&nbsp;Bangladesh&nbsp;as well, and of course, with Pakistan on Jammu and Kashmir,” Farooqui said. “These policies do not make India effective for peace and stability in the region.”Explaining the context of a reset in Pakistan-Bangladesh&nbsp;ties, Pakistani prime minister’s special adviser on security, Moeed Yusuf, said in a veiled reference to India: “The context is very clear; there is one country that is threatening, annoying and upsetting all its neighbors.”In response to an email from Arab News, the spokesperson for the Indian high commission in Islamabad, Vipul Dev, referred to a statement by the spokesperson for the Indian External Affairs Ministry last week after the Pakistani PM’s call to Hasina, saying India’s relationship with&nbsp;Bangladesh&nbsp;was “time-tested and historic.”“This year both countries are taking a lot of steps to strengthen this partnership,” the ministry spokesperson said.Despite enduring ties between India and&nbsp;Bangladesh, experts say that Islamabad must continue to push its rapprochement with Dhaka, still in its infancy, forward.“Now it’s Pakistan’s responsibility to rebuild the relationship,” international relations expert, Prof. Delwar Hossain, said.For this, said Pakistan’s former high commissioner to India, Abdul Basit, the Pakistani prime minister needed to “follow up” on his call to his&nbsp;Bangladeshi counterpart.“Prime Minister Imran Khan should write a formal invitation to his&nbsp;Bangladeshi counterpart which will help keep the momentum going,” Basit said, adding that a special envoy to Dhaka should be appointed, as Pakistan had recently done for Kabul. “We should focus more on working behind-the-scenes to avoid unnecessary hype,” Basit said. “It should be a consistent process.”Experts say proof that the pyramids were constructed by humans can be found in the tombs within the structures. (File/AFP)LONDON: Egypt has invited billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk to visit its pyramids after he took to Twitter to claim they were built by aliens.The Tesla and SpaceX boss shared the oft-repeated conspiracy theory on Friday, saying “Aliens built the pyramids obv.”Aliens built the pyramids obv— Elon Musk (@elonmusk)&nbsp;The tweet has since received more than 85,000 retweets and half a million likes.In response, Egypt’s Minister of International Co-operation, Rania al-Mashat, tweeted her admiration for Musk and his work at SpaceX, and extended an invitation for him to visit the pyramids to see them for himself.She suggested he research how they were built and visit the tombs of the builders.“Mr. Musk, we are waiting for you,” she added — followed by a rocket emoji.I follow your work with a lot of admiration. I invite you &amp; Space X to explore the writings about how the pyramids were built and also to check out the tombs of the pyramid builders. Mr. Musk, we are waiting for you.— Rania A. Al Mashat (@RaniaAlMashat)&nbsp;Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass also responded in a short Arabic video, posted on social media, and said Mr Musk's argument was a “complete hallucination.”“I found the tombs of the pyramids builders, which tell everyone that the builders of the pyramids are Egyptians and were not slaves,” he said.There are more than 100 surviving pyramids but the most famous is the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt — standing at more than 137m.Most of them were built as final resting places for ancient Egyptian royalty.Musk is known for his provocative and often erratic tweeting, which has landed him in hot water a number of times, particularly for tweets that discuss his car company Tesla’s stock prices.Print Edition© 2020 SAUDI RESEARCH &amp; PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during a summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation(OIC) in Makkah. (Files/AFP)https://arab.news/mhqpmISLAMABAD/DHAKA: As India’s relations with its neighbors in the South Asian region deteriorate, old foes Pakistan and&nbsp;Bangladesh&nbsp;are making a push to build diplomatic, economic and cultural ties that could upend decades of historic arrangements in the region, officials and experts in Islamabad and Dhaka have said.Indeed, a number of recent diplomatic developments have hinted at a thaw in a...

public

Arab_News

The Voice of a Changing Region. Established in 1975, Arab News is the Middle East’s leading English daily. Also:  @ArabNewsFR  |  @ArabNewsJP  |  @ArabNewsPK

Pakistan, Bangladesh in ‘quiet’ diplomacy to ease decades of acrimony

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS