Pak PM meets Yunus in Cairo, seeks to boost economic ties

Pakistan is trying hard to revive ties with Bangladesh akin to the relationship whenever the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jamaat were in power in Dhaka, with an initial focus on trade, culture and sports. However, this may revive Pakistan's infamous spy agency ISI's network in Bangladesh much to India's discomfort. The chief adviser of Bangladesh's interim government, Muhammad Yunus, met Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday on the sidelines of the D-8 Summit being held in Cairo. They agreed to revive ties through increased trade, commerce and exchange of sports and cultural delegations, ET has learnt.

Sharif and Yunus also discussed the possibility of the revival of Saarc which is unlikely to move forward as India finds less salience in the concept. When Sheikh Hasina was in power in Bangladesh, she occasionally exchanged communication with Pakistan PMs at the behest of Islamabad but did not hold any physical meeting.

Yunus is understood to have asked Sharif to address the 1971 legacy issues that involves killings, torture, humiliation and rapes of millions. However, given Pakistan's track record, forward movement on this issue is unlikely as the Pakistan Army will not agree to apologise for the 1971 atrocities.


ET has learnt that Pakistan's attempt to improve ties with Dhaka immediately after Hasina's exit has revived ISI networks in Bangladesh that will have major security implications for north-eastern states and West Bengal. During 1991-96 and again in 2001-06, during the BNP-Jamaat rule, the ISI network in Bangladesh encouraged, abetted and financed anti-India activities including support to NE insurgent groups and terror groups like the LeT, sources recalled. Several cross-border terror attacks in India between 2001 and 2006 were traced to Bangladesh.