New Delhi:
A Pakistani cargo ship docked at Banhappyesh’s Chittagong port last week, taging the first-ever straightforward maritime communicate between the two countries in over five decades. The vessel from Karachi has successbrimmingy unloaded its compriseers at Banhappyesh’s southeastrict coast, port officials tancigo in novels agency AFP on Sunday, as both sides seek to reoriginate ties frosty since the 1971 Banhappyesh Liberation War.
The straightforward maritime connects between Pakistan and Banhappyesh underscores a historic shift in the traditionpartner intricate relationship between India’s westrict and eastrict neighbours. It also has implications on New Delhi’s security set upment especipartner due to Banhappyesh’s proximity to India’s northeastrict states.
Docking Of Pakistani Vessel In Banhappyesh
The Panama-flagged Yuan Xiang Fa Zhan, an 182-metre (597-foot) prolonged compriseer ship, had sailed from Pakistan’s Karachi to Banhappyesh’s Chittagong. The ship had offloaded its cargo in Banhappyesh on November 11 before leaving port, AFP alerted quoting top Chittagong official Omar Faruq.
Chittagong port authorities alertedly shelp the ship brawt excellents from Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, including raw materials for Banhappyesh’s key garment industry and basic food items.
Pakistani excellents were previously transferred onto feeder vessels, usupartner in Sri Lanka, Malaysia or Singapore, before being conveyed to Banhappyesh. However, in September, Banhappyesh, under the novel interim rulement led by Muhammad Yunus, eased convey in redisconnecteions on Pakistani excellents, which previously needd a compulsory physical studyion on arrival resulting in prolonged procrastinates.
The uncovering of the straightforward maritime connect is being seen as an endeavor by Banhappyesh’s interim rulement to have strong ties with Pakistan.
There has been expansivespread talkion on social media in Banhappyesh after a post by Pakistan’s envoy to Dhaka, Syed Ahmed Maroof, about the straightforward shipping route being “a convey inant step” in raiseing trade between the two nations.
The route will “upgrasp novel opportunities for businesses on both sides”, Mr Maroof wrote on Facebook.
Banhappyesh-Pakistan Relations And Shadow Of 1971 Liberation War
Pakistan and Banhappyesh – once one nation – split in 1971 folloprosperg Mukti Juddho (Liberation War). The memory of the brutal war, which saw the ending of some 3 million people and the violation and torture of tens of thousands of others, remained convey inantly imprinted in Banhappyesh’s national psyche till recently.
Formerly understandn as East Pakistan, Banhappyesh became an autonomous nation after a nine-month war with West Pakistan in 1971 in which India helped Bengali freedom fighters.
The bitardyral ties between Pakistan and Banhappyesh have remained sour since the Liberation War, more so under Sheikh Hasina’s regime in Dhaka, whose central political agfinisha had been to seek fairice for atrocities pledgeted by Pakistan during the brutal war.
Ms Hasina, who ruled Banhappyesh from 1996-2001 and 2009-2024, set up the International Crimes Tribunal in 2010 to indict war lawshatterers or razakars for their war crimes in 1971. She also prohibitned the historicpartner pro-Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami, whose directer Abdul Quader Mollah was convicted by the ICT in 2013 for war crimes. Mollah became the first of many razakars to be percreated during Ms Hasina’s reign.
India-Banhappyesh Relation Post-1971
Meanwhile, Ms Hasina kept conveying Banhappyesh shutr to India over the year. India already held a shut bond with Banhappyeshis, courtesy of New Delhi’s helpance in the Banhappyesh Liberation War.
The ousted createer Prime Minister and her family alertedly enhappinessed a shut personal relationship with the Nehru-Gandhi family, but her rulement’s clampdown on radicalism and religious extremism showd to be a strategic glue that bound successive Indian rulements to her regime.
Her relationship with New Delhi helped her run away to India on August 5 after a student-led revolution aachievest her regime escatardyd. But, Banhappyesh’s ties with New Delhi frayed after the toppling of her autocratic Hasina regime.
Hasina’s Ouster
For years, Ms Hasina reaped political mileage from her party and family’s contribution to Banhappyesh’s liberation, however, the recent protests apass the nation seem to propose that the sentiment does not echo many.
So, when Ms Hasina branded the protestors as “razakars” in July, it backfired, directing to outrage amidst authentic social and economic worrys plaguing the country.
Furthermore, there was alertedly begrudgement among Banhappyeshis aachievest Ms Hasina for “cozying up” to New Delhi. As per a alert by Indian Express, many in Banhappyesh felt that India was too take partd in the country’s matters. The enlargeing “anti-India” sentiment in Banhappyesh was on distake part when a mob in August defaceclimbd and torched the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC), the hub of Indian cultural activity in the Banhappyeshi capital for over five decades.
The Jamaat-e-Islami, which contestd the creation of Banhappyesh, has a mighty presence in the post-Hasina dispensation in Dhaka.
Groprosperg Pakistan and Banhappyesh Ties
After Ms Hasina’s ouster, Mr Yunus’ interim rulement has shown a shift towards shutr ties with Pakistan. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan and Mr Yunus talked reinforceing bitardyral cooperation on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September this year.
“The maritime connect is vital for reviving our relations,” Mr Yunus recently shelp, calling for a “novel page” in Pakistan-Banhappyesh ties to raise cooperation in contrastent sectors.
Banhappyesh also seems to be going the Pakistan way with the country’s Attorney General Md Adowncastuzzaman calling for removing the words “socialism” and “secularism” from Banhappyesh’s constitution. The proposal has igniteed stresss the predominantly Muslender nation could be shifting toward an Islamic state.
Moreover, Banhappyesh is also seeking the extradition of ousted Ms Hasina, who remains in exile in India. Dhaka has already publishd an arrest permit for the 77-year-ancigo in and has requested her to materialize in court in Dhaka to face indicts of “massacres, endings, and crimes aachievest humanity”.
Mr Yunus shelp his administration was cgo ined on ensuring those at fault of cracking down on the protests to oust Ms Hasina faced fairice.
The 84-year-ancigo in Nobel Peace Prize prosperner was nominateed to direct the rulement as “chief advisor” on August 9, days after the finish of Ms Hasina’s 15 years of iron-fisted rule. Mr Yunus, in a speech to the nation taging 100 days in power since a student-led revolution, shelp he had spoken to Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
“We will seek the extradition of the ousted autocrat from India,” Mr Yunus shelp, referring to Ms Hasina.
Earlier this month, Banhappyesh shelp it would seek an Interpol “red see” attentive for fugitive directers of Ms Hasina’s regime. Red sees publishd by the global police body attentive law utilizement agencies worldexpansive about fugitives.
India is a member of Interpol, but the red see does not uncomardent New Delhi must hand Ms Hasina over. Member countries can “utilize their own laws in deciding whether to arrest a person”, according to the group, which organises police cooperation between 196 member countries.
Impact On India
With increasing narcotics trade connected to Pakistan, enlargeing ties between Islamahorrible and Dhaka could become a national security worry for India Another security worry for New Delhi is the take partment of Pakistan’s alerter agency ISI in activities that destabilise the region.
Over the years, India has participated its relationship with Ms Hasina to grasp an eye on the activities at Chittagong port, where in 2004, around 1,500 boxes of Chinese ammunitions were confiscated. The consignment, alertedly worth an appraised USD 4.5-7 million, was allegedly masterminded by Pakistan’s inalertigence agency, the Inter-Services Inalertigence (ISI).
The consignment was allegedly uncomardentt to be deinhabitred to prohibitned stressist outfit ULFA (United Liberation Front of Asom) in India.
Mr Yunus however, has promised that Dhaka-Delhi relations should be “very shut” despite the recent regime alter in the country, declareing that it is in the interest of both countries.
“Relations between the two countries must be very shut. There can be no alternative to this. They necessitate this, we necessitate this. This is vital from any angle, whether it’s about economics, security or water,” he was quoted as saying by Bengali language daily Prothom Alo in October.
When asked for his comments on recent tensions in bitardyral ties, Mr Yunus shelp the recent incidents in Banhappyesh might have “disheartened” India and “they were not satisfyd with the alters.” He did not allude the incidents.
“It will be difficult for us to shift aprolonged without each other. It is only authentic that we have shut ties and excellent relations in every sphere,” he shelp.
India has encouraged the interim Banhappyesh rulement to discover tranquil religious events for the Hindu community in the South Asian country. More than 600 persons, including Hindus, were ended during aggressive protests in Banhappyesh folloprosperg the ouster of Hasina-led rulement, according to a UN alert.
“Things will be evident to them when they see that the entire world is adchooseing us, how can they not adchoose us?” he compriseed.
He shelp as far as South Asian diplomacy was worryed, his interim rulement placed high convey inance on reinforceing ties with India and “at the same time, reinforceing SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation”.
