Even though Pakistan is facing severe internal problems with the Baloch freedom aspiring nationals, the government in Islamabad is trying its best to come closer to the Bangladesh interim government in Dhaka. Political observers believe that the unholy alliance between Islamabad and Dhaka may pose a serious challenge to the Indian Union government in New Delhi. Since its birth, Pakistan remains an enemy nation to India and lately another neighbour Bangladesh starts behaving like a foe to India. The current Bangladesh government head Dr Muhammad Yunus had a meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in New York during the United Nations General Assembly in September 2024. Later Bangladesh and Pakistan initiated regular cargo shipping and direct flights to facilitate the people to contact between the two countries, which was once under the same territory as Islamic Republic of Pakistan after separating from Bharat in 1947. Lately a delegation of Pakistani traders visited Dhaka with an aim to establish a joint council that would focus on economic cooperation. It was followed by the visit of a team of Bangladeshi military officials to Pakistan. Moreover, a popular Pakistani singer performed Qawali (a form of Sufi Islamic devotional song) in Dhaka with a spectacular response.
During the freedom movement, the Pakistani forces killed nearly 30 lakh Bengali nationals but facing a difficult situation Bangladesh was born with the support from Indian armed forces and common people. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became the first President of the country which turned seemingly secular in nature. Later Mujib-daughter Sheikh Hasina became the Prime Minister of Bangladesh as her party Awami League won the national elections. Till she was ousted by a popular movement last year, Hasina maintained a confrontational stance toward Pakistan asking a public apology from Islamabad for the 1971 massacre. Currently Hasina is taking refuge in India and hoping to return back soon. With all limitations, she continues criticizing the present Bangladesh government chief Dr Yunus, which has indirectly influenced the bilateral ties between Dhaka and New Delhi. In public places, representatives from both the countries are talking about good neighbourly relations, but in reality it has deteriorated.
Now Dr Yunus is insisting on reviving the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which faced deadlock because of New Delhi-Islamabad confrontations. It may be mentioned that representatives of the eight SAARC member countries met last time in Kathmandu (Nepal, November 2014). Established in 1985, SAARC is a regional cooperation framework that represents over 25% of the world’s population. The deadlock began when Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided not to attend a SAARC summit in Pakistan as India faced Islamist terror attacks backed by Islamabad in 2016. Later the then Bangladesh premier Hasina also refused to attend the summit in Pakistan. Ultimately, the forum became defunct till now. Both PM Modi and Hasina then initiated in empowering the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), which is headquartered in Dhaka and excludes Pakistan. It’s assumed that Dr Yunus wants to include Pakistan in the forum and hence insists on reviving the SAARC. He is not interested in activating BIMSTEC, which is headquartered in his country only, because his interest remains in including Pakistan into the south Asian group.
Dr Yunus may be thinking of getting support from Islamabad in his mission, but with the present crisis across Pakistan it will hardly materialize in the coming days. The radical Islamic groups are also fueling anti-Indian sentiments in Bangladesh picking a primary reason for Hasina’s shelter in New Delhi for more than seven months. Moreover, Bangladesh may go for elections by this year (or early next year) and Dr Yunus cannot be an electoral candidate as he heads the caretaker government. Unless Dr Yunus becomes President of Bangladesh (of which there is a possibility), his persuasion will come to an end very soon. So New Delhi may not get worried by these developments, even though a close watch on neighbourly affairs will be a need of the hour.
Next BIMSTEC summit is scheduled for April in Bangkok and it will be a matter of observation, how PM Modi reacts to Dr Yunus while discussing the revival of SAARC.