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). Howeve