Diplomatic Correspondent :
Two Pakistani ministers are set to visit Bangladesh, marking a fresh push to revive relations after more than a decade of strained ties during the tenure of the Awami League government.
Diplomatic sources said, Pakistan’s Minister of Commerce Jam Kamal Khan will arrive on August 21 for a four-day visit, followed by Deputy Prime Minister as well as Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on August 23 for a two-day trip.
The visits come in the wake of Bangladesh’s political transition following the August 5, 2024 student-public uprising, which prompted Pakistan to take steps to activate dialogue at multiple levels.
In April, Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch visited Dhaka as part of these efforts. Dar was scheduled to visit Dhaka on April 27 but the Pahelgam terrorist attack in Kashmir postponed the visit for uncertain period.
Finally the visit is going to take place this month when Ishaq Dar is expected to hold official talks with Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Md. Touhid Hossain on August 24, focusing on revitalizing political relations alongside existing cooperation.
Several agreements are likely to be signed, including pacts on cooperation between the two countries’ Foreign Service academies and cultural exchanges, sources said.
Diplomatic sources indicate that there is also progress toward a visa waiver agreement for diplomatic and official passport holders, with the draft already exchanged. If political approval is secured next week, the deal could be signed during Dar’s visit.
Meanwhile, Jam Kamal Khan’s visit will center on enhancing bilateral trade, with a Memorandum of Understanding expected on forming a Joint Working Group on Trade, led by additional secretaries from both countries’ commerce ministries.
During the Hasina rule, the bilateral relations at diplomatic level between the two countries reached nadir as Bangladesh was more tilted towards India. Now the bilateral relation between Dhaka and Delhi has gone into hibernation.
With the renewed momentum in Dhaka-Islamabad ties, both countries are working on various issues including enhanced trade, direct shipping and direct flights.
Apart from this meeting, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in July visited Dhaka and met a number of high profile government officials and expressed his government’s cooperation in the coming days.
During his meeting with Home Adviser Lt Gen (Retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, they pledged to work hand in hand to combat drug trafficking and terrorism, as part of a broader effort to strengthen bilateral ties in the post-Hasina era.
Their meeting focused on several key issues, including combating drugs and terrorism, cooperation in police training, visa-on-arrival facilities for diplomatic and official passport holders, the Rohingya refugee crisis, prevention of cybercrime, and expanding bilateral trade.
Both sides emphasised the need to utilise mutual experience in addressing common challenges.
When the interim government led by Prof Muhammad Yunus has been calling for reinvigorating the SAARC platform to resolve the emerging crisis among its member countries, India is not showing any interest to revive it.
Against this backdrop, a new platform of cooperation for mutual interests, China has been moving ahead with Bangladesh and Pakistan to form a new platform to garner benefits focusing on development, trade and strategy. All these initiatives are changing the dynamics of this region.
Sources said that Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb may also visit Dhaka later this year, possibly in September or October, to attend the Joint Economic Commission (JEC) meeting – the first since 2005 – which will be led on Bangladesh’s side by Economic Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed.
