DHAKA ( WNAM REPORT ): Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday met Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus during his landmark visit to Dhaka, and the two discussed strengthening bilateral ties, boosting trade, and revitalizing regional cooperation through the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
“The two leaders discussed strengthening bilateral ties, boosting trade, youth-to-youth exchanges, increased education and cultural exchanges and revitalizing regional cooperation through SAARC,” a statement from the Bangladesh interim leader’s office said.
Yunus highlighted the importance of “revitalizing all potential avenues” of regional and bilateral cooperation, urging progress in bilateral trade and emphasizing the role of people-to-people connections, particularly among the youth.
While acknowledging that “some sensitive issues remain,” the former Nobel laureate emphasized several areas of collaboration, including frequent cultural exchanges.
“Our visions are aligned, and SAARC remains a top priority for both of us,” Yunus said.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry also issued a brief statement, saying the discussion covered “revival of old connections” between the two countries, promoting youth linkages, enhancing connectivity, and augmenting trade and economic cooperation. The recent developments in the region and the prospects of regional cooperation were also discussed, according to the statement.
Dar, the readout said, thanked Yunus for the “excellent visit arrangements and the warm hospitality” extended to him and his delegation during the course of visit.
Earlier on Sunday, the two countries signed six cooperation agreements, including a deal allowing visa-free travel for official passport holders.
Other memorandums covered cooperation on trade, foreign service academies, state news agencies, strategic studies institutes, and a cultural exchange program. A joint working group on trade will also be formed.
The agreements were signed after ministerial-level talks between Dar and Bangladesh’s Foreign Adviser Md. Touhid Hossain.
Dar, speaking to reporters after the signing of the documents, argued that disputes over the 1971 war — in which Bangladesh broke away from Pakistan — had already been addressed. He cited discussions in 1974 and during former President Pervez Musharraf’s visit in the early 2000s.
Calling the two South Asian nations a “family,” Dar said: “Muslims have been asked to keep their hearts clean. Thus, I call on to move forward and forget the past, and take the trade and bilateral ties to a new height.”
Hossain, however, rejected Dar’s comments. “We want Pakistan to express regret and apologize for the genocide that took place here (during the war of independence in 1971). And Pakistan should take back its citizens stranded here, and resolve the issue of Bangladesh’s claim in the mutual assets of undivided Pakistan,” he told reporters.
The adviser added that relations with Islamabad had been deliberately put on hold under the Sheikh Hasina administration, but the current interim government sought “normal relations with Pakistan, just as we want with other friendly countries.”
Dar, who arrived in Dhaka on Saturday for a two-day trip, the first by a Pakistani foreign minister in 13 years, also met former Prime Minister and Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia, and head of Jamaat-e-Islami, Shafiqur Rehman.
Dar, the ministry said, lauded Zia’s services to Bangladesh while “memories of Begum sahiba’s visit to Pakistan in 2006 were also recalled.”
Relations between Dhaka and Islamabad have warmed since the August 2024 uprising that toppled Hasina’s government, which was widely viewed as pro-India. The last Pakistani foreign minister to visit Bangladesh was Hina Rabbani Khar in 2012.
