Bangladesh-Pakistan Foreign Secretary meeting after 15 years!
After a long gap of about 15 years, an important Foreign Secretary-level meeting (Foreign office Consultation - FOC) is going to be held between bangladesh and Pakistan. This meeting will be held in Dhaka on thursday (April 17), in which Foreign Secretary Ammana Baloch from pakistan and Foreign Ministry Advisor Jasimuddin from bangladesh will participate. The meeting is taking place at a time when the role of Bangladeshi terrorist organizations has come to the fore after the violence in Murshidabad, West Bengal. In such a situation, the strategic significance of this meeting has increased significantly for India.
This is the first time since 2010 that the top diplomatic officials of both the countries will be face to face. Although both sides have not made any specific agenda public for the meeting, it is believed that apart from bilateral relations, issues like common strategy regarding India, trade, security, and transport can be discussed in it. Apart from this, Pakistan's Deputy prime minister and Foreign minister Ishaq Dar is also going to visit Dhaka in the last week of April, which will be the first visit of a Pakistani Foreign minister after 2012.
Open doors for pakistan after the arrival of Yunus government
For the last 15 years, the bangladesh government under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina had adopted a tough stand for Pakistan, but the interim government of Mohammad Yunus, which came to power recently, has laid out the "red carpet" for Pakistan. Its effect is now clearly visible in diplomatic activities. In the last few months, officials of Pakistan Army and ISI have also visited bangladesh, which indicates that Islamabad is trying to strengthen its hold in Dhaka.
Growing interest of ISI and Pakistan
Experts believe that Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI is now playing an active role in Bangladesh. The main objective behind this may be to create instability in the eastern border areas of India, establish cyber networks, and support local radical organizations.
Pakistan is also working towards furthering trade relations with Bangladesh. However, geographical distance and transportation cost are a major obstacle in this. Bangladesh's High Commissioner to pakistan Mohammad Iqbal Hussain Khan says that if logistics costs can be reduced, then imports from pakistan can also increase.
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