Relations with Pakistan dip further [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

Relations with Pakistan dip further

Local January 07, 2016

Bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Pakistan have become cold after the recent forced withdrawal of a Pakistani diplomat from Dhaka and subsequent retaliation by Islamabad.
Parliament is likely to hold a debate on relations with Pakistan and its role regarding war crimes trial and execution of war criminals in Bangladesh in its upcoming session to begin on January 20.
Without citing any reason, Pakistan on Tuesday asked to withdraw Maushumi Rahman, counsellor (political) at Bangladesh High Commission in Islamabad, within 48 hours.
Pakistan foreign ministry summoned Bangladesh high commissioner Suhrab Hossain on Tuesday and conveyed the message.
Maushumi would leave Islamabad by today for Lisbon as the government transferred her to Bangladesh mission in Portugal.
State minister for foreign affairs M Shahriar Alam said on Wednesday, ‘This [asking Bangladeshi diplomat to leave Pakistan] is not going to help the relations.’
The government was ‘closely monitoring’ the ups and downs of the relations, he said.
Asked if Bangladesh was considering anymore step in current diplomatic row, the state minister said, ‘We are not ruling out any possibilities.’
The government was prepared to transfer Maushumi apprehending that Pakistan might retaliate after the departure of its diplomat from Dhaka, but the point was when Bangladesh high commissioner wanted to know the reasons for asking her to leave the country, Pakistan foreign ministry did not cite any reason, Shahriar said.
On a question about discussion in parliament, Shahriar said that the government ‘is responsible’ to the parliament where any nationally important issue could be discussed. ‘It will be a healthy debate for us.’
Bangladesh Enterprise Institute vice-president M Humayun Kabir told New Age, ‘It is an impudent act by Pakistan when relations between the two countries are not at a desirable level. It was more like a tit for tat.’
Pakistan recalled Fareena Arshad, second secretary at its high commission in Dhaka, in the last week of December 2015 as the government informally asked to withdraw her in 48 hours on allegation of having involvement in financing extremists.
‘What we did was based on some allegations,’ said Humayun, a retired career diplomat.
It was surprising that Pakistan has maintained sex and timeline (48 hours) when it asked a Bangladeshi diplomat to leave the country, a Bangladeshi diplomat said, adding that Maushumi was, however, a relatively senior officer.
Pakistan was critical of war crimes trial and execution of war criminals which had annoyed the government.
‘We will not allow anybody to reconstruct history,’ the state minister said.
Asked about the government’s future plan in current diplomatic row, Shahriar said that there were ‘good enough reasons’ for maintaining relations between the two countries. ‘We will maintain patience.’
The two countries formally established diplomatic relations in 1974 after Pakistan recognised Bangladesh after three years of the 1971 War of Independence from Pakistan.
Bangladesh’s founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was on a state visit to Pakistan in 1974 at the invitation of his arch
political rival in 1970’s general elections and during the war Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
There was no high level bilateral visit between the two capitals in the past seven years excluding the visit of then Pakistani foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar to Dhaka in 2012. Heads of the governments, ministers and senior officials, however, met during and on the sideline of multilateral meetings of different regional and international bodies. Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif called on prime minister Sheikh Hasina during the 18th SAARC Summit in Kathmandu in November 2014.