ISLAMABAD: Bangladesh has decided to appoint a seasoned High Commissioner to Pakistan in an effort to rejuvenate its relations with Islamabad following the ousting of pro-India leader Sheikh Hasina.
Pakistan has accepted the nomination of Muhammad Iqbal Hossain as the new Bangladeshi High Commissioner to the country.
According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, the experienced diplomat Muhammad Iqbal Hossain will succeed Ambassador Md. Ruhul Alam Siddique as the Bangladeshi High Commissioner to Pakistan.
Hossain is expected to travel to Pakistan soon to assume his new role.
Under Sheikh Hasina Wajid’s 15-year rule, Bangladesh’s relations with Pakistan were largely formal, as her government maintained a strong alignment with India.
In the wake of Hasina’s removal from power through widespread agitation, Pakistan’s foreign office expressed solidarity with the people of Bangladesh. This gesture received significant attention in the Bangladeshi press on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, India’s Border Security Forces (BSF) have imposed a curfew in the border areas with Bangladesh amidst escalating political turmoil in Dhaka, where Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has fled the capital and sought political asylum in New Delhi.
According to Indian media reports, the BSF has recommended a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. in all areas within 200 meters of the Bangladeshi border in Meghalaya.
India is grappling with a significant diplomatic setback as student-led protests in Bangladesh have led to the collapse of Sheikh Hasina Wajid’s government, a key ally of New Delhi.
There are 915.35 kilometers of unfenced land along the Bangladesh border. Five Indian states share a 4,096-kilometer-long border with Bangladesh.
The BSF is on high alert, and tensions are particularly high near the borders with Bangladesh and in the eastern state of West Bengal.
The Indian government has issued strict orders that no one should be allowed entry into the country without proper documentation and permission.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.
