Laudable reconnect

Reconnecting with Bangladesh is a laudable foreign policy achievement. The decision to resume direct flights between Karachi and Dhaka from next week, after a long hiatus marred with suspicion in relations, is a good omen – something that needs to be emulated in other avenues of bilateralism. The frost in relationship has taken a backseat since the ouster of Awami League from power, and it is encouraging that both the countries have walked the talk for a reset in their ties.

It is good to note that the volume of trade has increased by 20% year on year amid several new accords between the business communities of the two countries, apart from tie-ups in cultural, medical and educational horizons for a beefed-up cordiality. Likewise, the nod from both the governments to grant visa-free entry to holders of diplomatic and official passports is a breakthrough, and comes on the heels of renewed understanding in the arenas of higher education, nanotechnology and AI.

Pakistan's High Commissioner Imran Haider in an audience with Bangladesh's Chief Advisor Dr Muhammad Yunus took a leap forward as they discussed the way forward holistically. Their mutual desire to tap student scholarship will go a long way in scaling down the animosity of history, and making a new beginning in inter-state relations. The fact that Sheikh Hasina's dispensation of 15 years had bred contempt against Pakistan at the behest of India, nullifying the progress made with late Khaleda Zia government, has come to toll all walks of national life on both sides of the divide. That has thankfully come to an end as the Nobel laureate's interim set-up has doubled down on mending fences with Islamabad. This momentum must live on.

The two South Asian states have a responsibility to dispense in broadening regional cooperation, and the proposal to revive a SAARC-type organisation minus India sounds promising. New Delhi's hegemonic attitude had derailed regional amalgamation, and its high time Bangladesh and Pakistan picked up the threads for knitting geo-economics for the collective good of the poverty-stricken region.