Pakistan, Bangladesh reach agreement on visa-free travel for diplomats, officials

Pakistan and Bangladesh on Wednesday reached an agreement to permit visa-free entry for holders of diplomatic and official passports.

The decision was taken at a meeting between Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Lieutenant General (retired) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury in Dhaka, the state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

The move signals a further thaw in bilateral ties long shaped by historical hostility, observers opine.


Relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh have witnessed a marked improvement following the establishment of the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus in Dhaka.

During the meeting between Naqvi and Chowdhury, the two sides also agreed to enhance cooperation in the fields of internal security and police training, the Radio Pakistan report said.

Besides, they discussed increasing collaboration on anti-narcotics and anti-human trafficking. Views were exchanged on joint counter-terrorism measures and exchange programmes between police academies of the two countries, it said.

Chowdhury described the visit of Pakistan's Interior Minister to Bangladesh as extremely important to promote bilateral cooperation between Dhaka and Islamabad.

He also thanked Naqvi for extending the offer of police training to Bangladeshi officials.

Pakistan has formed a joint committee, to be headed by Interior Secretary Khurram Agha, to further boost cooperation with Bangladesh.

A high-level Bangladeshi delegation will soon visit Islamabad to tour the Safe City Project and National Police Academy.

Relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh have improved since the current political set up came to power, as the two sides are trying to reset ties.