EDITORIAL: There’s a lesson in the newfound Pakistan-Bangladesh bonhomie that’s gripped the Asian press all the way from the UN General Assembly in New York.
No sooner had Sheikh Hasina been ousted and Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus taken over than welcome chatter about better ties – Pakistan’s standing position even when Bangladesh’s previous ruling dispensation placed itself squarely in Delhi’s lap – started emerging from Dhaka. And it didn’t take long for a possible roadmap to appear once Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus sat down on the sidelines of the UNGA (United Nations General Assembly).
There’s really no limit to how much the two sides, which have the same past and similar problems – the most glaring of which is poverty – can help each other if only they engage constructively; beginning with more interaction and more commerce. That is why the best idea of the meeting, which came from Yunus, was to revitalise SAARC, the premier platform for social, cultural and commercial cooperation in south Asia.
Yet Dhaka knows, surely, that SAARC lies dead in the water only because India, under BJP’s hegemonic delusions, took the wind out of it and countries like Bangladesh, which was then an Indian satellite under Hasina, played a part in the sabotage. Hence the policy reversal carries a tacit admission that India’s interference in other countries’ affairs has been blunting the entire continent’s forward march.
Bangladesh under Hasina was, in fact, the only neighbouring country that Modi’s India had not forced to turn away by its 10-plus years of bulling around the region. And now it, too, has decided to finally carve its own identity and forge regional alliances as it sees fit, not according to the likes and dislikes of an extremist, reactionary government in Delhi.
Everybody knows how easy it is to open old wounds between Pakistan and Bangladesh. Yet leaving the past where it is in favour of a better future for the people only goes to show the vision of the dispensation trying to put Bangladesh back together again after a decade-and-a-half of divisive politics that polarised the country and triggered a historic, instructive people’s revolution.
Pakistan, regardless of any particular party in power at any time, has always taken the position that all of Asia must trade more, because there is no other mechanism to address widespread poverty faster and on such a large scale. Yet, time and again, India has advanced policies that limit the effectiveness of bodies like SAARC and introduce hostility in bilateral decisions. That makes the new initiative between Islamabad and Dhaka even more admirable, because they’re trying to lift living standards of common people and also set a new diplomatic precedent in the continent.
The Pakistani delegation was wise to call for “fostering relations through parliamentary exchanges, people-to-people contacts and interaction among sportspersons, academics, artists and students”. Such ‘soft’ connection must go hand in hand with trade and commerce if the two countries, especially their people, are to really bury the hatchet and look to the future. Suddenly, there’s the possibility of former rivals investing in and trading with each other while also building a lasting social contract.
Swift on-ground action must follow the thaw in New York, with foreign and commerce ministries taking the lead. Both countries are buried under their own problems, and neither has the luxury of time. The sooner they can find any meaningful relief, especially the kind that brings economic benefits for the millions grinding in poverty, the better.
This initiative also brings the added benefit of healing bitter wounds and shedding regressive influences. It can, if successful, also serve as the textbook example of overcoming differences in larger mutual interest.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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