December 14, 2020 In a rare move, Pakistan’s high commissioner to Bangladesh met with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, pledging to improve the otherwise dormant bilateral relationship between the countries. Conceivably, the telephonic conversation of PM Imran Khan with his Bangladeshi counterpart paved the way in fusing the troublesome relations between the two countries. The backchannel diplomacy conducted over the year could upend the historic configurations of the South Asian region. The initiative of advancing cultural and economic ties is to be lauded. However, this series of diplomatic initiatives is breaking the long-standing impasse in maintaining cordial relations. In the past years, cooperation remained limited. In fact, the two countries came at odds after the government of Bangladesh resumed the 1971 war crimes trials. The trials led to several leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami being tried and executed for siding with Pakistan (during the 1971 conflict). However, Pakistan claimed the executions were ‘politically motivated’ and had not been conducted to mete out justice. Bangladesh viewed these comments as interference in its domestic affairs. As a response, the Saarc summit in September 2016 was boycotted by Bangladesh to protest against Pakistan’s stance on those Bangladesh called war criminals who were guilty of participating in the 1971 war. Following the trials, relations between the two countries reached a low.