Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar is likely to visit Bangladesh on or after February 5 after ending his Malaysia tour from February 3-5.
Ishaq Dar made this announcement at a press conference at Islamabad on Thursday; however, Dar's trip to Dhaka will be the first visit by any Pakistani foreign minister in a decade, Pakistan's Former Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar was the last foreign minister to travel to Dhaka in 2012.
Ishaq Dar described his planned Bangladesh visit as "crucial" noting that Bangladesh is their "lost brother."
Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met on the sidelines of the D8 Summit in December 2024 and agreed to strengthen relations between the two countries.
After the completion of my visit to Malaysia, I will visit Bangladesh on the invitation of Dr Yunus which I received at Cairo," said the Pakistan Foreign Minister on Thursday during a media briefing in Islamabad.
"We will work, support and cooperate on the economic and trade fronts and things are moving fast on these fronts," said Ishaq Dar. Dar's announcement of a visit to Dhaka signals a "groundbreaking development" that shows warming ties between the two countries after the ouster of what Pakistan described as "the pro-Indian government in August last year".
"Pakistan and Bangladesh are rebuilding ties after the fall of the Hasina government," Dar said. The foreign minister confirmed that Dr Yunus also accepted Pakistan's invitation to travel to Islamabad at mutually agreed dates.
"The Awami League leader never reciprocated several attempts by Pakistan to mend ties as she was aligned with India," The Express Tribune of Pakistan says.
During the Cairo meeting, Prof Yunus and Sharif discussed issues of mutual interest, including the revival of the SAARC-a key feature of the foreign policy announced by the chief adviser after he took over as the head of the interim government.
Dr Yunus also urged his Pakistani counterpart to settle the issues of 1971 to help Dhaka move forward with its relationship with Islamabad.
"The issues have kept coming again and again. Let's settle those issues for us to move forward," Dr Yunus told Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh repeatedly wanted Pakistan to "seek apology publicly with a formal announcement" for the genocide and atrocities perpetrated by Pakistan occupation army against unarmed Bangalis in 1971 War of Liberation.
In February 2023, Bangladesh conveyed the same message to former State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Pakistan Hina Rabbani Khar during a meeting in Sri Lanka's Colombo.
Pak PM Sharif said the 1974 tripartite agreement involving Bangladesh, Pakistan and India settled things, "but if there are other outstanding issues," he would be happy to look at them.
Prof Yunus told Pak PM it would be nice to resolve things "once and for all for the future generations."
The two leaders also expressed their desire to extend cooperation in new areas such as the sugar industry and dengue management.
After the new-found bonhomie, the first direct cargo vessel from Karachi docked at Chittagong port in Bangladesh in mid-November, which officials said marked a major step in bilateral trade. The second one docked in late December.
Bangladesh has already announced the resumption of direct flights to and from Pakistan soon.
Relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh remained strained during the 15-year term of Sheikh Hasina, Pak media report said.
Meanwhile, in a recent interview, Pakistan's High Commissioner to Bangladesh Syed Ahmed Maroof examined the evolving Pakistan-Bangladesh bilateral relationship. On the question of Pakistan apologizing to Bangladesh for the horrific bloodshed of 1971, Maroof said that Pakistan is looking to move beyond the past. "We aim for a fresh start," he said.
"In the context of the new Bangladesh, I see a significant difference: while we were engaging previously, it wasn't as frequent or intense as it is now. Nowadays, it feels like we have a meeting every other day, we're reaching out and actively engaging with the government. In both the short and long term, I believe this increased interaction is a positive sign for the bilateral relations between the two countries," he added.
Replying to a question over the defence cooperation between the two countries, the High Commissioner said as of now, we have good training exchanges between the Pakistani and Bangladeshi armed forces. Pakistani officers have been undergoing training in various institutions in Bangladesh for a long time. Similarly, Bangladeshi officers also participate in training programmes in Pakistan, including mid-level and high-level training sessions. This exchange fosters mutual understanding and cooperation.
In the future, if Bangladesh expresses interest in further defense collaboration, we will certainly consider it, Pak HC said.
