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ISLAMABAD: During a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the sidelines of the D-8 summit of developing nations in Cairo, the interim leader of Bangladesh on Thursday expressed the desire to resolve outstanding grievances from Dhaka’s 1971 separation from Islamabad.
The two countries were once one nation, but split following a bloody civil war, which saw the territory previously referred to as ‘East Pakistan’ seceding to form the independent nation of Bangladesh.
“The issues have kept coming again and again. Let’s settle those issues for us to move forward,” the AFP news agency quoted Dr Muhammad Yunus as telling PM Shehbaz, according to a statement from the former’s office.
In the years since the split, Dhaka’s leaders — especially the recently ousted regime of Sheikh Hasina — stayed firmly in the Indian camp, preferring to maintain close ties with New Delhi and keeping Islamabad at arm’s length.
However, ever since a popular uprising that saw Hasina’s government toppled in August, there has been a thaw in ties between the two capitals, with trade and bilateral relations seeing a marked improvement.
It was in this spirit that PM Shehbaz, during a meeting with Dr Yunus, highlighted the historical, religious and cultural linkages between the two countries and expressed Pakistan’s keen desire to enhance bilateral cooperation, particularly in the areas of trade, people-to-people contacts and cultural exchanges, a statement from the PM Office said.
