Express Tribune report: Pakistan’s foreign minister to visit Bangladesh after a decade
Last Updated on January 5, 2025 6:06 am
Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh in August last year in the face of widespread student protests and took refuge in India. After that, the Pakistani government’s relations with the interim government in Bangladesh improved significantly. The heads of government of the two countries also held bilateral meetings in New York. In line with that, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar is visiting Bangladesh this time.
A report by the Pakistan-based media outlet Express Tribune on Friday (January 3) said that Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will visit Bangladesh next month. This upcoming visit is a landmark step after the ouster of the pro-India government in August last year, which highlights the warm relations between the two countries.
Express Tribune says that this is going to be the first visit by a Pakistani foreign minister to Bangladesh since 2012.
At a press conference on Thursday, the Pakistani foreign minister said that he will visit Dhaka in February at the invitation of Bangladesh’s foreign affairs advisor Towhid Hossain.
The Pakistani foreign minister also confirmed that Bangladesh’s chief advisor, Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus, has accepted Pakistan’s invitation to visit Islamabad on a mutually agreed date.
The last Pakistani foreign minister to visit Bangladesh was Hina Rabbani Khar in 2012. She had visited Dhaka to invite then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for the D-8 summit.
The Express Tribune says that relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh were strained during Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year tenure. The Awami League leader did not reciprocate Pakistan’s multiple attempts to establish ties with India.
Relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh have improved considerably since Hasina was ousted from power in August last year following a bloody uprising and fled to India. There have also been several high-level developments between the two countries.
Bangladesh has also lifted the embargo on Pakistani goods, allowing for increased bilateral trade. The two countries have also started direct trade via sea.
Ishaq Dar called Bangladesh a ‘fraternal country’ and said that Pakistan will provide all kinds of assistance to Dhaka.