Dhaka: Close monitoring of Bangladesh-Pakistan relationship requires critical thinking. The bilateral relations have hastened due to the dynamics of internal polity within the two countries along with the anti-India detestation. Pakistan, a praetorian ideological Islamic state is linked to Al-Qaeda’s jihadi network. In post-Sheikh Hasina’s Bangladesh under Muhammad Yunus’ interim administration, the jihadi groups and radical Islamists are re-grouping due to poor governance and lawlessness, threatening to destroy the secular fabric of the nation carved out of ‘hasa Aandolan’, the Bengali Language Movement which gave rise to Bengali nationalism. Driven by this Bengali nationalism, people of East Pakistan had unified to create Bangladesh.

Over the years, Bangladesh’s economic development and economic indicators have improved much more than Pakistan. Due to political instability, terrorism, chaos and violence, criminality and corruption, weak governance and insurgency the wheel of economic and industrial development in Pakistan stopped a long time ago. The present situation of Bangladesh sadly mirrors that of Pakistan in disconcerting ways. Leaning heavily into Islamist ideology, the interim administration led by Yunus is deliberately crippling the once-thriving garment industry of Bangladesh. Bangladesh is currently the world’s second largest exporter of garments, behind only China. A sluggish performance and compounding political problems in this sector have derailed its growth.

Dhaka’s financial claim from Islamabad is to the tune of USD $4.32 billion as a fair share from the assets of undivided Pakistan before 1971. Moreover, Bangladesh has also demanded USD $200 million received as foreign aid from countries and agencies to then East Pakistan during the extremely deadly November 1970 Bhola cyclone. These demands were raised at the sixth round of Foreign Secretary-level bilateral consultations held between the two countries after a hiatus of 15 years, in Dhaka on April 17. In terms of population, Bangladesh was a 56 per cent partner and its foreign exchange earnings stood at 54 per cent. If any equality principle is followed, Bangladesh can claim at least 50 per cent. Dhaka has demanded a formal apology from Pakistan for the atrocities committed before and during the Liberation War but Islamabad has shown no propensity to do so.

The visit of Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to Dhaka was scheduled in April this year but was postponed due to the direct involvement of Pakistan in the horrifying killings of tourists in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir. Having rescheduled his visit to later this month, Dhaka is again gearing up to welcome a Pakistani Foreign Minister after a gap of 13 years who will be accompanied by a large Pakistani delegation.

A Joint Working Group comprising officials from the Bangladesh foreign ministry and the Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka has been formed as both countries plan to sign several MoUs during Dar’s visit, particularly in trade, investment, and other areas like agriculture, digital economy, environment protection, marine sciences, green infrastructure, culture, education, and people-to-people exchanges.

Both Bangladesh and Pakistan have also established direct air connectivity after nearly a decade and signed an MoU on granting on-arrival visas to diplomatic and official passport holders. The decision was taken on July 23 during the visit of Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to Dhaka and his meeting with Bangladesh’s Home Affairs Advisor Jahangir Alam Chowdhury.

Bangladesh seeks to resolve pending financial entitlements and historically unresolved issues with Pakistan. In a significant move earlier this year, Bangladesh purchased white rice from Pakistan under a government-to-government deal. This direct trade also established a direct maritime connectivity between the two countries.

The Yunus administration is keen to “reset” ties with the tyrannical Pakistan, which had undermined democracy in East Pakistan, crushed people’s rights by the bayonet of the gun, plundered the economy and reminded the Bengali Muslims the superiority of Urdu language while denigrating Bengali. Surprisingly, Yunus is playing to the tune of jihadists and radical Islamists in deciding the foreign policy course of Bangladesh.

It is likely that Bangladesh may raise the issue of the Rakhine or Humanitarian Corridor with Pakistan. The proposed corridor may be used as a cover for geopolitical restructuring. Recently, three officers from the Pakistan Army Medical Corps had visited Bangladesh. Interestingly, these three officers had newly-issued passports with no stamps or other markings on the pages with one-year validity indicative of a specific purpose of the visit. They had visited Ramu Cantonment, headquarter of Bangladesh Army’s 10th Infantry Division. This division is one of three within the Chattogram Division and was formed as part of the Bangladesh Armed Forces’ Goal 2030 development vision.

There is likelihood of Pakistani involvement in activities related to the Arakan Army at Ramu within a broader regional context, where the role of Arakan Army and the strategic presence of China cannot be overruled. The Arakan Army gets funds and arms and weapons from China to protect Chinese economic interests in the Rakhine State of Myanmar, particularly the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor. The timing, the nature of travel documents and the choice of a highly sensitive military zone like Ramu point to a joint Bangladesh-Pakistan covert military arrangement.

Looking at Pakistan’s inimical overtures, it is relevant to point out that Pakistan may leverage the situation by positioning its non-state actors in Bangladesh, making them mingle with the Rohingya refugees and working in conjunction with the radical-Islamist coterie promoting anti-India activities.

(The writer is an expert on South Asia and Eurasia. He was formerly with Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. Views expressed are personal)

–IANS

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