Pakistan is very happy with the change of power in Bangladesh after the student movement on 4 August. Relations between the two countries remained bad during the tenure of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Bangladesh wanted Pakistan to apologize for the war crimes committed by it during the 1971 Liberation War but Pakistan refused. After this refusal, relations between the two countries deteriorated further. Now that the Sheikh Hasina government has been overthrown and a pro-Pakistan government has been formed in the country, Pakistan is overjoyed.
Bangladesh’s interim government, led by Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus, has also started making efforts to improve its relations with Pakistan. Nahid Islam, advisor on information and broadcasting in the interim government, said on Monday that the Bangladesh administration wants to resolve “issues” related to the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War with Pakistan.
26-year-old student activist Nahid Islam was the main face of the downfall of the Sheikh Hasina government. According to sources in Dhaka, Nahid Islam met Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh Syed Ahmed Maroof on Monday and said that his country wants to resolve the long-standing dispute with Pakistan.
Islam said, ‘The Awami League (Sheikh Hasina’s party) considered 1971 as the “last chapter of history”. However, we believe that history has been made and will continue to be made. We want to resolve the issue of 1971 with Pakistan.’
In 1971, due to internal crisis in Pakistan, there was a third war between India and Pakistan. After this war, East Pakistan got separated and Bangladesh was born.
‘Some leaders of Bangladesh are setting a dangerous example…’
The interim government is also reportedly considering changes to the fundamental principles of the Awami League. The government has maintained silence on the vandalism of the statues and museums of Sheikh Mujiburahman, the face of Bangladesh’s independence struggle and its first president, which gives us an idea of its intentions.
Dhaka-based political commentator Professor Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah told The New Indian Express: “Some leaders are trying to rapidly advance ties with Pakistan… By doing so, a dangerous precedent is being set and it is being done in a hurry.”
Shahbaz Sharif had defended the demolition of Sheikh Mujiburahman’s statues
Some time ago, Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, while defending the vandalism with the statues of Mujiburahman, had said, ‘As one sows, so shall one reap.’ He had said that whoever led the anti-Pakistan movement met the same fate.
Pakistani High Commission becomes active in Bangladesh
During Sheikh Hasina’s rule, there was very little activity in the Pakistani High Commission in the capital Dhaka. The High Commission was accused of supporting candidates of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the 2018 parliamentary elections.
Now the Pakistani High Commissioner in Dhaka has announced that Bangladeshis will soon be able to travel to Pakistan without a visa and direct flights between Dhaka-Islamabad will resume. During the meeting with Nahid Islam, the Pakistani High Commissioner also expressed his country’s desire to resolve the issue of the Liberation War with Bangladesh.
High Commissioner Maruf said, ‘We wanted to resolve the 1971 issue. However, the previous government did not give us any opportunity for talks and deliberately kept the issue unresolved. This matter could have been resolved long ago. We wish to increase relations with Bangladesh.’
Pakistan has also offered assistance to flood-hit Bangladesh. Nahid Islam also said that his government will establish strong relations with other South Asian countries while protecting Bangladesh’s independence and national interests.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)