ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s envoy to Bangladesh said on Thursday that the two countries wanted to ‘strengthen’ bilateral ties, following a meeting between Pakistani High Commissioner Imran Ahmed Siddiqui and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence.
“The two sides agreed to further strengthen the existing fraternal relations between the two countries,” Siddiqui was quoted as saying in a statement from the High Commission.
As India’s relations with its neighbors in the South Asian region deteriorate, old foes Pakistan and Bangladesh are making a push to build diplomatic, economic and cultural ties that could upend decades of historic configurations in the region, officials and experts in Islamabad and Dhaka have said.
Indeed, a number of recent diplomatic developments have hinted at a thaw in the long-troubled Pakistan-Bangladesh equation.
Prime Minister Imran Khan invited his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina to visit Islamabad in a rare call in July that came just weeks after a ‘quiet’ meeting between Pakistan’s high commissioner to Dhaka, Imran Ahmed Siddiqui, and Bangladeshi Foreign Minister A. K. Abdul Momen.
Relations between the two countries have never recovered from the 1971 war when Bengali nationalists, backed by India, broke away from what was then West Pakistan to form a new country.
Ties reached a new low in 2016 when Bangladesh executed several leaders of its Jamaat-e-Islami party on charges of committing war crimes in 1971. Pakistan called the executions and trials “politically motivated,” arguing that they were related to the pro-Pakistan stance of the convicts during the war.
But now, officials on both sides say it’s time for a reset.
“We look forward to having a sustained dialogue with the government of Bangladesh on how best our bilateral relations can move forward on a positive trajectory,” Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui told Arab News earlier this year. “We hope to work and take forward our relations, whether its trade, culture and all other mutual areas.”
In July, ambassador Siddiqui told Arab News the aim of his meeting with the Bangladeshi foreign minister had been “to further promote bilateral relations with a forward-looking approach” given a desire from both sides to strengthen ties, particularly through private sector partnerships.
“The younger generation is especially keen to forge meaningful ties. There is a huge potential in bilateral economic and commercial cooperation,” he said. “The two sides may work together to realize this potential with a focus on bringing our respective private sectors closer.”
Pakistan, Bangladesh hope to 'strengthen' ties after Islamabad envoy's meeting with Hasina
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Pakistan, Bangladesh hope to 'strengthen' ties after Islamabad envoy's meeting with Hasina
- Pakistani High Commissioner Imran Ahmed Siddiqui met Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence on Thursday
- A number of recent diplomatic developments have hinted at a thaw in the long-troubled Pakistan-Bangladesh equation
Pakistan, India exchange lists of nuclear facilities, prisoners amid strained ties
- List of Indian prisoners include 58 civilians and 188 fishermen, foreign office says
- New Delhi says it has 391 civil prisoners, 33 Pakistani fishermen in custody
ISLAMABAD: The governments of Pakistan and India have exchanged lists of their nuclear installations and prisoners in each other’s custody in line with existing bilateral treaties, the foreign ministries of both countries said on Thursday.
The development takes place amid strained ties between India and Pakistan following their four-day military conflict in May 2025. High-level engagement between officials of both countries remains mostly suspended as tensions persist.
India and Pakistan exchange lists of prisoners in each other’s custody on Jan. 1 and July 1 each year under the Consular Access Agreement between them. They also exchange lists of nuclear installations under a 1988 agreement that prohibits attacks on each other’s nuclear facilities and requires annual notification of such sites on Jan. 1.
“The Government of Pakistan today handed over a list of 257 Indian prisoners (58 civil+ 199 fishermen) in Pakistan to the High Commission of India in Islamabad,” Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said during a weekly press briefing.
Andrabi said the Indian government is also sharing the list of Pakistani prisoners in its custody with the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a press release that it had exchanged a list of 391 civil prisoners and 33 fishermen in its custody who are “Pakistani or believed-to-be-Pakistani.”
Andrabi said Pakistan had also exchanged a list of nuclear installations and facilities in Pakistan with a representative of the Indian High Commission in the foreign office today.
“I understand that the Indian government is also sharing the list of Indian nuclear installations with our High Commission in New Delhi today,” he added.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs on its website later confirmed New Delhi had provided Pakistan with the list of its nuclear installations in line with their bilateral treaty.
The development took place a day after Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar shook hands with Pakistan’s National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq in Dhaka, marking the first high-level contact between officials of both countries since May.
Tensions escalated sharply after New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir on Apr. 22 last year that killed 26 people, most of them tourists. Pakistan denied involvement and called for an international investigation.
India fired missiles into Pakistan on May 7, saying it had targeted militant camps. The two sides then exchanged artillery fire, missiles, fighter jet strikes and drone attacks for four days before US President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire on May 10.
