A Pakistani cargo ship reached Bangladesh’s Chittagong port last week, the first direct sea contact between the two countries in five decades. The ship from Karachi has successfully offloaded its containers off the south-eastern coast of Bangladesh, port officials told AFP news agency on Sunday, as the two sides try to rebuild relations that have deteriorated since the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Are doing.
Direct maritime connectivity between Pakistan and Bangladesh marks a historic shift in the traditionally complex relations between India’s western and eastern neighbours. This also has implications for New Delhi’s security establishment, especially due to Bangladesh’s proximity to India’s north-eastern states.
Pakistani ship docking in Bangladesh
The Panama-flagged Yuan Jiang Fa Zhan, a 182-metre (597-foot) long container ship, was sailing from Karachi, Pakistan, to Chittagong, Bangladesh. AFP quoted Omar Farooq, a top Chittagong official, as saying the ship had offloaded its cargo in Bangladesh on November 11 before leaving port.
Chittagong port officials reportedly said the ship brought goods from Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, including raw materials and basic food items for Bangladesh’s key garment industry.
Pakistani goods were usually transferred to feeder ships in Sri Lanka, Malaysia or Singapore, before being transported to Bangladesh. However, in September, Bangladesh, under the new interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, relaxed import restrictions on Pakistani goods, which previously required mandatory physical inspection upon arrival, resulting in long delays.
The opening of direct maritime connectivity is being seen as an effort by the interim government of Bangladesh to build stronger ties with Pakistan.
There has been widespread discussion on social media in Bangladesh after a post by Pakistan’s envoy to Dhaka Syed Ahmed Maroof described the direct shipping route as “a big step” to boost trade between the two countries.
The route “will boost new opportunities for businesses on both sides,” Mr Maroof wrote on Facebook.
Bangladesh-Pakistan relations and the shadow of the 1971 liberation war
Pakistan and Bangladesh – once one nation – divided after the Liberation War (Liberation War) in 1971. The memory of the brutal war, in which approximately three million people were killed and thousands more were raped and tortured, remained deeply imprinted in the national psyche of Bangladesh until recently.
Bangladesh, formerly known as East Pakistan, became an independent nation in 1971 after a nine-month war with West Pakistan in which India aided Bengali freedom fighters.
Bilateral relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh have remained sour since the liberation war, especially under the rule of Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka, whose central political agenda was to seek justice for atrocities committed by Pakistan during the brutal war.
Ms. Hasina, who ruled Bangladesh from 1996-2001 and 2009-2024, established the International Criminal Tribunal in 2010 to prosecute war criminals. Razakar For his war crimes in 1971. He also banned the historically pro-Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami, whose leader Abdul Quader Mollah was indicted by the ICTY for war crimes in 2013. Molla became the first among many Razakar The executions were scheduled to take place during Ms Hasina’s rule.
India–Bangladesh relations after 1971
Meanwhile, Ms Hasina continued to bring Bangladesh closer to India throughout the year. India already has close relations with Bangladeshis due to New Delhi’s assistance in the Bangladesh Liberation War.
The ousted former Prime Minister and his family reportedly had close personal relations with the Nehru-Gandhi family, but his government’s crackdown on terrorism and religious extremism proved to be a strategic glue that bound successive Indian governments to his rule.
His ties to New Delhi helped him escape to India on August 5 after the student-led revolution against his rule escalated. But, Bangladesh’s relations with New Delhi deteriorated after the fall of the autocratic Hasina regime.
Haseena’s expulsion
For years, Ms. Hasina took political advantage of the contributions of her party and family to the liberation of Bangladesh, however, recent protests across the country indicate that this sentiment does not reflect that of many people.
Therefore, when Ms. Hasina termed the protesters as “Razakar” In July, it backfired, sparking outrage amid real social and economic concerns in the country.
Additionally, there was resentment among Bangladeshis against Ms Hasina for allegedly being “easy-going” on New Delhi. According to an Indian Express report, many people in Bangladesh felt that India was too involved in the country’s affairs. The growing “anti-India” sentiment in Bangladesh was demonstrated when in August a mob vandalized and set fire to the Indira Gandhi Cultural Center (IGCC), a center of Indian cultural activity in the Bangladeshi capital for more than five decades.
Jamaat-e-Islami, which opposes the creation of Bangladesh, has a strong presence in the post-Hasina government in Dhaka.
Growing Pakistan and Bangladesh relations
Following Ms Hasina’s ouster, Mr Yunus’ interim government has shown a shift towards closer ties with Pakistan. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Mr. Yunus discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September this year.
Mr Yunus recently called for a “new page” in Pakistan-Bangladesh relations to enhance cooperation in various sectors, saying “the maritime link is essential to revive our relations.”
Bangladesh also appears to be going Pakistan’s way and the country’s Attorney General Mohammad Asaduzzaman has called for removing the words “socialism” and “secularism” from the Bangladesh Constitution. This proposal has raised fears that the Muslim-majority nation could move towards an Islamic state.
Besides, Bangladesh is also demanding the extradition of ousted Ms Hasina, who is in exile in India. Dhaka has already issued an arrest warrant for the 77-year-old woman and summoned her to appear in a Dhaka court to face charges of “genocide, murder and crimes against humanity”.
Mr Yunus said his administration was focused on ensuring that those guilty of suppressing protests to oust Ms Hasina were brought to justice.
The 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate was appointed as “chief adviser” to lead the government on August 9, days after the end of Ms Hasina’s harsh 15-year rule. Mr Yunus, in a speech to the nation marking 100 days of the student-led revolution, said he had spoken to Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
“We will demand the extradition of the ousted dictator from India,” Mr Yunus said, referring to Ms Hasina.
Earlier this month, Bangladesh said it would request a “red notice” alert from Interpol for fugitive leaders of Ms Hasina’s regime. Red notices issued by the global policing body alert law enforcement agencies around the world about fugitives.
India is a member of Interpol, but the red notice does not mean New Delhi should hand over Ms Hasina. According to the group that organizes police cooperation among the 196 member states, member states “can apply their own laws in deciding whether to arrest a person”.
impact on india
With the growing narcotics trade linked to Pakistan, growing ties between Islamabad and Dhaka could become a national security concern for India. Another security concern for New Delhi is the involvement of Pakistan’s spy agency ISI in activities destabilizing the region.
Over the years, India has used its ties with Ms. Hasina to monitor activities at the Chittagong port, where in 2004, about 1,500 boxes of Chinese ammunition were seized. The consignment, reportedly worth an estimated US$4.5-7 million, was allegedly masterminded by Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
This consignment was allegedly to be delivered to ULFA (United Liberation Front of Assam), a terrorist organization banned in India.
However, Mr Yunus assured that Dhaka-Delhi relations should remain “very close” despite the recent regime change in the country, saying it was in the interest of both countries.
He said, “Relations between the two countries should be very close. There can be no alternative to it. They need it, we need it. It is necessary from any point of view, whether it is about economy, security or water.” ” Bengali language daily Prothom Alo in October.
Asked for his comment on the recent tensions in bilateral relations, Mr Yunus said recent events in Bangladesh might have “disheartened” India and “they were not happy with the changes.” He did not mention the incidents.
“It will be difficult for us to move forward without each other. It is natural that we have close ties and good relations in every field,” he said.
India has urged the interim Bangladesh government to ensure peaceful religious events for the Hindu community in the South Asian country. More than 600 people, including Hindus, were killed in Bangladesh during violent protests that followed the ouster of the Hasina-led government, according to a UN report.
“Things will become clear to them when they see that the whole world is accepting us, so how can they not accept us?” He added.
He said that as far as South Asian diplomacy is concerned, his interim government has given high importance to strengthening ties with India as well as strengthening SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation).
