Zakir Hossain / Dhaka
Two Pakistani ministers will visit Dhaka within just two days of each other. Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan will arrive on August 21 for a four-day visit, while Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will land on August 23 for a two-day trip.
Ishaq Dar’s visit had been scheduled earlier, but on Wednesday Pakistan informed Dhaka of Jam Kamal Khan’s plans. Diplomatic sources say Islamabad is stepping up engagement following the August 5, 2024 political change in Bangladesh after a student-led uprising.
In April, Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Aamna Baloch visited Dhaka to thaw one-and-a-half decades of frosty ties. Dar’s trip aims to revive relations and boost political-level contact. Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb is also expected in September or October for a Joint Economic Commission (JEC) meeting— the first since 2005— with Bangladesh’s Economic Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed heading the host delegation.
Dar’s formal talks with Bangladesh Foreign Adviser Md. Touhid Hossain will take place on August 24, marking the first known bilateral meeting at the foreign minister level. Several MoUs are expected to be signed, including cooperation between the two countries’ foreign service academies and cultural exchange.
Last month’s visit by Pakistan’s Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi paved the way for a potential visa exemption deal for diplomatic and official passport holders. If approved next week, it could be signed during Dar’s trip.
Meanwhile, Jam Kamal Khan’s visit will focus on boosting trade. A memorandum to form a Joint Working Group on trade, led by additional secretaries of both commerce ministries, is ready for signing.
Touhid Hossain told journalists, “We are not doing anything out of the way in our relations with Pakistan. Like with many other countries, we are trying to establish a normal relationship… There is no need for economically or politically hostile relations with Pakistan. In the past, a hostile environment… was created unnecessarily, and we have moved beyond that. While normalising relations, three unresolved issues remain on the discussion table.”