The Awami League governments historically had lukewarm ties with Pakistan for atrocities of 1971 and ISI’s role in assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975. In 2019, the Sheikh Hasina government issued an order that Pakistani citizens will have to obtain a ‘no objection’ clearance before getting a visa to enter Bangladesh.
Pakistan is yet to offer a formal apology for the genocide perpetrated by its army in 1971 which delayed normalisation of relations under all Awami League governments.
Security experts pointed out that the December 2 decision to reverse the 2019 order creates a security challenge for India, as it could lead to extremists and terrorists travelling to Bangladesh, which shares a more than 4,000 km-long border with India.
It may be recalled that during the last BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami rule between 2001 and 2006, Pakistan’s infamous spy agency, ISI, was active in Bangladesh, and with their local contacts encouraged northeastern insurgents and groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba to operate from Bangladesh soil.
Several terror attacks in India between 2001 and 2006 were traced back to Bangladesh. Pakistan allegedly also played a key role in the attempt to smuggle 10 trucks full of arms via Chittagong port in 2004. One of the experts cited earlier alleged that some ministers in the BNP government were involved in abetting terrorism and insurgency in India.Since Hasina’s ouster, the Pakistan high commission in Dhaka has been reaching out to the BNP leadership with an eye to re-establish influence, Bangladesh watchers pointed out.On Tuesday, Pakistan’s high commissioner to Bangladesh, Syed Ahmed Maroof, met with an ailing Khaleda Zia, the leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party , in Dhaka. Earlier, a Pakistani cargo ship docked at Bangladesh’s Chittagong Port for the first time since 1971. Pakistan may also be encouraging Islamists if they are able to regain influence, sources alleged.
