The deadly massacre of tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir erupted a fresh crisis between Pakistan and India, the two nuke-armed neighbors. The sectarian terrorists or Islamic jihadists deliberately targeted the Hindus only
India has accused Pakistan of supporting “cross-border terrorism” after the murderers carried out the most evil attack on civilians in contested Muslim-majority Kashmir
However, amid an escalation of tension between India and Pakistan, the regional tension has spilt over to Bangladesh
Hours after the barbaric atrocities in Kashmir, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, postponed his scheduled visit to Bangladesh on April 27-28
“Owing to unforeseen circumstances,” Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan cannot undertake the visit to Bangladesh
However, the official statement says that fresh dates will be announced through mutual consultations
Bangladesh officials said the first-ever visit of the Pakistani Foreign Minister in 25 years would have heightened the weak bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Pakistan
A few more official delegations were supposed to visit each other’s capitals for the augmentation of trade, commerce, industries, investment, communication, agriculture, foreign affairs, home affairs and others
It seems that such parleys would be delayed as the crisis has shaken the government of Pakistan after the worst carnage since the Pulwama attack in 2019
The direct flight from Karachi to Dhaka by Fly Jinnah airline has been postponed indefinitely, said an official in Dhaka
The fights would not commence unless the overflights over India are withdrawn, said the official
The reason is that the skies for overflights of Pakistan airlines to most South Asian east-bound destinations have been grounded for months to come
The Pakistani fight for Indian capital and the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, has been stalled
In an arbitrary decision by jealous bigwigs in Islamabad and New Delhi, scores of Indian airlines’ flights over Pakistan have been shut, and rerouting the flight paths is causing immense suffering for the passengers who were booked mostly for westbound destinations
Meanwhile, over 1,000 Bangladeshi immigrants, including women and children, were detained in a crackdown in India’s Gujarat days after the most horrible mass execution of civilians in recent times
Efforts for the detained Bangladesh nationals in Gujarat are underway for their deportation, Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi told Indian media
He said arrangements were made “to complete all the procedures for their deportation [to Bangladesh] as soon as possible”
The minister, without a proper investigation, jumped to the conclusion that most of these people are involved with drug cartels and human trafficking, and two out of the four Bangladeshis arrested recently worked in sleeper cells of Al Qaeda. “A probe will be conducted into these Bangladeshis’ background and activities in Gujarat,” the junior minister stated
Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain, briefing journalists at the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the ongoing tensions between the two rival neighbors, India and Pakistan, should be resolved through dialogue
“Our position is very clear. We want peace in South Asia. We are aware of the longstanding rivalry between Pakistan and India. We would expect the two countries would resolve the problem through dialogue,” he said
He reiterated that “We [Bangladesh] have good relations with both India and Pakistan.”
First published in the Stratheia Policy Journal, Islamabad, Pakistan on 29 April 2025
