Hasina urged to visit Pakistan and address parliament

Islamabad: Dr. Moonis Ahmar, Meritorious Professor, University of Karachi, has asked Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed to pay a visit to Pakistan and also address its Parliament here. He was addressing a webinar on “Pakistan-Bangladesh relations” organised by the Institute of Regional Studies here Tuesday.

Dr. Ahmar said that the visit of PM Hasina would usher in an era of positive transformation of mindsets that could lead to a paradigm shift in the relations between the two countries. He was of the view that the past was important to learn the mistakes but one must not be hostage to it. While concluding his talk, he called the Bangladesh government to seriously consider doing away with the exaggeration, and polarisation in the textbooks while maintaining a fine balance with their identity which could be a great service to the people of both countries, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Mukhlesur Rahman Chowdhry, former advisor to the President of Bangladesh, said that there had been numerous incidences in the past that spoke volumes about the camaraderie, adding that the people of both countries had fought together for the creation of Pakistan. He was quite optimistic about future relations between the two countries. PM Imran Khan was quite popular in Bangladesh, he said adding that his regional peace narrative and friendly overtures were highly appreciated in Bangladesh. Chowdhry also hailed Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh Imran Ahmed Siddiqui’s efforts for putting the bilateral relations back on track and preparing the ground for PM Hasina’s visit. He hoped that the new year would begin with Bangladesh Prime Minister’s visit to Pakistan.

Dr. Sujit Kumar Datta, Associate Professor of the Chittagong University, stressed the need to think out-of-the-box solutions and called for sincere efforts as the challenges still existed in the bilateral relationship. Nevertheless, if Bangladesh can balance its relations with India and China, balancing Pakistan and India relations was not a big deal, he opined. He emphasised that China could be a sticking factor, adding that the Belt and Road initiative could not only integrate Bangladesh and Pakistan but the entire region too.

He opined that India was an important country in the region, but for greater integration, it was essential for New Delhi to do away with marginalisation politics.