ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday called for translating existing goodwill between Islamabad and Dhaka into “tangible cooperation,” his office said, as both countries move toward closer ties following the ouster of former premier Sheikh Hasina.
Established together as one independent nation in 1947, Bangladesh won liberation from then-West Pakistan in 1971. Relations between the two countries continued to deteriorate during Hasina’s administration, which prosecuted several members of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party for war crimes relating to the 1971 conflict.
However, relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh have improved since Hasina was ousted in a bloody student-led protest in August. Islamabad’s ties with Dhaka have also improved as Bangladesh’s relations with India, where Hasina has sought refuge, have deteriorated.
Bangladesh’s outgoing high commissioner to Pakistan, Ambassador Muhammad Ruhul Alam Siddique, paid a farewell call on Sharif in Islamabad at the end of his four-year tenure on Wednesday.
“While conveying his warm wishes to Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the Prime Minister remarked that the existing goodwill between Pakistan and Bangladesh needed to be translated into tangible cooperation,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.
Outgoing High Commissioner of Bangladesh Muhammad Ruhul Alam Siddique pays a farewell call on Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad on December 11, 2024. (Photo courtesy: PMO)
Sharif acknowledged Siddique for promoting Pakistan-Bangladesh ties, stressing that Pakistan “greatly valued” its relations with Bangladesh rooted in shared history, common faith and cultural similarities.
“The High Commissioner thanked the Prime Minister for the facilitation, courtesies and privileges extended to him during his stay in Pakistan,” the PMO added.
Pakistan’s foreign office said in September that Islamabad sought “robust, multifaceted, friendly relations” with Bangladesh to ensure peace and stability in the region.
Sharif met Dr. Yunus in New York in September at a ceremony hosted by the Bangladeshi leader to mark the completion of 50 years of Bangladesh’s membership in the United Nations.
Both sides agreed to forge stronger ties and enhance bilateral cooperation in various fields during their meeting.
