Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar Visits Bangladesh After 13 Years; Key Announcements Expected in Dhaka

Dhaka: Pakistan's Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar arrived in Bangladesh on Saturday on a two-day visit. This is the first state visit of a Pakistani foreign minister to Bangladesh in the last 13 years. After the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government in August last year and the formation of Mohammad Yunus' government in Bangladesh, relations between Islamabad and Dhaka have improved. Under this, Dar arrived in Dhaka on a visit on 23-24 August on the invitation of the Bangladesh government.

Ishaq Dar will meet interim government head Mohammad Yunus along with other big leaders of Bangladesh in Dhaka. The Pakistan Foreign Ministry says that the discussion between Dar and Yunus will include the entire dimension of bilateral cooperation, including regional and international issues of mutual interest. At the same time, experts say that this closeness between Pakistan and Bangladesh can be a cause of concern for India.

Khar had visited Dhaka before Dar

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry has said that Dar's visit is an important milestone in Pakistan-Bangladesh relations, as a Pakistani foreign minister is visiting Bangladesh after a gap of 13 years. Before Dar, Hina Rabbani Khar had visited Dhaka in 2012 as Pakistan's foreign minister.

Dar's visit comes soon after the official visit of Pakistani Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan to Dhaka. Apart from the leaders of both sides, military officers have been visiting each other's countries continuously in the last few months. Not only this, people of the Pakistani agency ISI have also made several visits to Dhaka in the recent past.

India's concern

Pakistan and Bangladesh have taken many decisions, like those about trade, direct flights, and visa exemption. However, these are not India's concern. India's concern is the interference of the Pakistan Army and ISI in Bangladesh. The Pakistan Army and ISI have previously conspired to destabilize India's northeastern states.

During the Sheikh Hasina government, the interference of Pakistani agencies in Bangladesh had reduced significantly. After taking power, Mohammad Yunus seems to be giving a free hand to the fundamentalists and allowing Pakistanis to use his land. This can definitely create problems for India at the security level.