Dhaka says can join grouping bypassing SAARC

Bangladesh has expressed its willingness that it may, under the right strategic conditions, consider joining a regional grouping with Pakistan that excludes India in a formulation Dhaka believes is not feasible for several other South Asian countries.

The state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha reported that Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain, while speaking about evolving regional dynamics, remarked, "It is possible for us (Bangladesh) strategically... (but) it is not possible for Nepal or Bhutan to form a grouping with Pakistan excluding India".

The comment by a senior Bangladeshi official has been widely read as a response to Islamabad's recent pitch for new multilateral alignments in the region.

The assessment comes days after Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told an 'Islamabad Conclave' that a trilateral initiative involving Pakistan, China and Bangladesh was already underway and could eventually widen to other states.

According to the Bangladeshi outlet, Hossain noted that Dar "has said something, and perhaps at some point this could see some progress".

Speaking at the opening session of the 5th Islamabad Conclave hosted by the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI), Dar had warned that South Asia could no longer afford to remain trapped in "zero-sum mindsets, political fragmentation and dysfunctional regional architecture".

He said Pakistan sought "open and inclusive regionalism" and signalled support for emerging multilateral platforms outside SAARC.

Dar said earlier this year Pakistan, Bangladesh and China established a trilateral mechanism to foster mutual collaboration in areas of common interests.

"This concept can be expanded and replicated. As I have said before, groups with variable geometry – on issues from the economy to regional priorities – cannot and should not be held hostage to anyone's rigidity," Dar said, in a veiled reference to India.