Luring Dhaka

Reconnecting dots with Bangladesh is on the agenda. The desire is in relevance to make use of the changed political dynamics in the South Asian state after the fall of Sheikh Hasina's dispensation. The fact that Awami League was hostile to Pakistan and during the 15-year- long stint of Hasina, it was a tough affair to deal with a pro-India government. And that was at the root of discord. Perhaps, the League nursed the wounds of 1971 dismemberment and always treated Islamabad with an undesired sense of repulsion. The intention on the part of the Foreign Office to redraft priorities with Dhaka is a good omen, and the reported assimilation of a strategy paper by former envoys to Bangladesh is a step in the right direction.

Pakistan has a special bond with the Bangladeshi populace, and values the intellectual strength of the then East Pakistan. In this regard, efforts were underway even during the Hasina regime to help soften the stance and several overtures were made from Islamabad. Former PM Imran Khan himself spoke to Hasina, and sent in a special envoy too for scaling down tension in interstate relations, and the envelope has been greatly pushed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif who had a word with the new Chief Adviser of Bangladesh government Professor Muhammad Yunus, extending his desire for normalization of ties. The onus is now on Dhaka to reciprocate and see to it that this undesired animosity and sense of otherness comes to an end, and trade and diplomatic relations are put back on a sound footing.

The policy paper has apparently talked about mending fences on a diverse pattern, and one of the recommendations is to appoint a Bengali speaking seasoned diplomat as High Commissioner. That can be a good start, and it is altogether necessary that Pakistan should stop looking at Bangladesh through an Indian prism. We have blundered by doing the same in Afghanistan, where Islamabad wished for an anti-Delhi regime, and flunked. Bilateralism should be the focus of synergy, and there is a lot that can be evolved with Bangladesh in good-faith.