Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain has hinted that Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar is expected to visit Bangladesh soon, but not before April this year.
Speaking to reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday, Hossain emphasised that there was no reason to maintain strained relations with Pakistan.
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“We assume that Pakistan’s Foreign Minister will visit, though the exact date has not been finalised yet. However, I don’t think the visit will take place before April,” he said.
Officials in both Dhaka and Islamabad are currently working on the planned visit.
“There is still time, and we will make some decisions in the meantime,” the Adviser added.
When asked whether Bangladesh would raise the issue of Pakistan’s apology for its role in the 1971 Liberation War and possible compensation, Hossain acknowledged that unresolved issues persist even after 53 years.
He assured that these matters would be addressed during discussions.
He, however, cautioned against being fixated.
“If we remain stuck on these issues, neither side will benefit. We will, of course, protect and pursue our interests, but at the same time, we want to engage with Pakistan as we would with any other country. We do not want to perceive our relationship with them negatively,” he said.
Hossain stressed that Bangladesh sees Pakistan as a fellow South Asian nation with shared interests.
The Adviser highlighted that maritime connectivity between Bangladesh and Pakistan has already resumed, bringing economic benefits. “We will try to maximise our gains from this opportunity,” he added.
Responding to another question, he noted that the previous Awami League-led government had deliberately strained Bangladesh-Pakistan relations, which, in his view, did not serve the interests of either nation.
Ishaq Dar’s upcoming trip to Dhaka will mark the first visit by a Pakistani Foreign Minister since 2012.
Under the previous government, Bangladesh had repeatedly urged Pakistan to issue a formal public apology for the atrocities committed against unarmed Bangladeshis in 1971.
In February 2023, Dhaka conveyed the same message to former Pakistani State Minister for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar during a meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
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More recently, Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif discussed the issue on the sidelines of the D8 Summit in December 2024.
Prof Yunus urged Sharif to address the unresolved matters from 1971 to facilitate improved relations between Dhaka and Islamabad.
“These issues keep coming up repeatedly. Let’s resolve them once and for all so that we can move forward,” Yunus told Sharif.
Sharif acknowledged the 1974 tripartite agreement between Bangladesh, Pakistan and India, which had aimed to settle such matters, but expressed willingness to revisit any outstanding concerns.
“It would be beneficial to resolve these issues permanently for future generations,” Prof Yunus said.
During their meeting, Yunus and Sharif also discussed expanding cooperation in new sectors, including the sugar industry and dengue management.
They explored ways to revive the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), a key priority in Bangladesh’s foreign policy under the interim government.
Prof Yunus, a Nobel Peace Laureate, also reiterated his administration’s commitment to carrying out essential reforms and holding the next general elections before mid-2026.