Pakistan's deputy PM-cum-foreign minister Ishaq Dar, who was on a two-day visit to Dhaka this week, attempted to woo Bangladesh, but his efforts may not yield desired results because of Islamabad's precarious economic situation.
After his arrival on Saturday, Dar held a series of meetings. A six-member delegation of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party met Dar while he separately interacted with leaders of the radical Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party.
Dar claimed on Sunday that three unresolved matters between Islamabad and Dhaka, including the demand for an apology over the 1971 genocide, have been "resolved" twice in the past. He made these remarks following a meeting with foreign affairs adviser Towhid Hossain in Dhaka on Sunday.
The relations between Dhaka and Islamabad were at their lowest during former PM Sheikh Hasina's rule, specifically when the Awami League government initiated in 2010 the trial of collaborators of Pakistani forces during the 1971 Liberation War. The Awami League has condemned Dar's visit, stating that "without recognition of genocide, normalisation is betrayal".
The Awami League said: "History cannot be rewritten. Justice cannot be bargained away." Over 3 million people were killed and over 300,000 women raped by the Pakistani Army in 1971.
Incidentally, Pakistan's commerce minister Jam Kamal Khan is in Bangladesh on a four-day visit to enhance ties. The economic partnership holds little promise given Pakistan's precarious economic situation. It is learnt that Pakistan is trying to offer fellowships to Bangladesh students.
After his arrival on Saturday, Dar held a series of meetings. A six-member delegation of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party met Dar while he separately interacted with leaders of the radical Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party.
Dar claimed on Sunday that three unresolved matters between Islamabad and Dhaka, including the demand for an apology over the 1971 genocide, have been "resolved" twice in the past. He made these remarks following a meeting with foreign affairs adviser Towhid Hossain in Dhaka on Sunday.
The relations between Dhaka and Islamabad were at their lowest during former PM Sheikh Hasina's rule, specifically when the Awami League government initiated in 2010 the trial of collaborators of Pakistani forces during the 1971 Liberation War. The Awami League has condemned Dar's visit, stating that "without recognition of genocide, normalisation is betrayal".
The Awami League said: "History cannot be rewritten. Justice cannot be bargained away." Over 3 million people were killed and over 300,000 women raped by the Pakistani Army in 1971.
Incidentally, Pakistan's commerce minister Jam Kamal Khan is in Bangladesh on a four-day visit to enhance ties. The economic partnership holds little promise given Pakistan's precarious economic situation. It is learnt that Pakistan is trying to offer fellowships to Bangladesh students.
