Pak.-Bangladesh ties take a downturn

By Haroon Habib

DHAKA, SEPT. 23. Relations between Bangladesh and Pakistan have hit an all-time low after the Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina's scheduled meeting with Pakistan's military ruler, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, on the sidelines of the U.N. millennium summit in New York was called off by the Pakistanis.

The reason for the abrupt cancellation of the meeting was Sheikh Hasina's forceful plea at the U.N. Security Council against toppling of democratic Governments by military leaders, and also her demand that Pakistan apologise to Bangladesh for the crimes committed by that country's army in 1971.

While Bangladesh has not taken kindly to the cancellation of the meeting, the remarks made by Gen. Musharraf against Sheikh Hasina were seen as ``very harsh''. The General accused Sheikh Hasina of interfering in the internal affairs of Pakistan through her speech. He also wanted the Bangladesh leader, whose party led the country's war of liberation against Pakistan in 1971, to bury the past.

Diplomatic circles here feel that this is for the first time relations between the two countries have witnessed such a sharp deterioration. Though Dhaka has some longstanding issues with Pakistan including that of repatriation of the thousands of Urdu- speaking Pakistanis and the sharing of the pre- independent assets, Dhaka-Islamabad relations remained good even during Gen. Zia-ul-Haq's military regime.

There have been no stable Governments in Pakistan during the last 50 years but all the Governments in Bangladesh, particularly after the bloody political changeover in 1975, had maintained good relations with Islamabad. Therefore, the sudden deterioration in relations has saddened the ``pro-Pakistani lobby'' in Bangladesh including the fundamentalists who have taken a strong position under the leadership of the former Prime Minister, Begum Khaleda Zia, to dislodge Sheikh Hasina from power.

Some mouthpieces of these sections have criticised Sheikh Hasina for what they say was ``untimely and unjust remarks'' against Pakistan. They have also attacked her for ``acting at the behest of India'', virtually echoing the allegation made by Mr. Abdus Sattar, Pakistan's Foreign Minister.

But Sheikh Hasina has scored a point both at home and abroad through her bold stand against military regimes. Leading Bangladesh dailies, including those which normally remain critical about her, have also praised her ``principled pro- democracy stand'' and accused Gen. Musharraf of ``over- reaction''.

Surprisingly, the two big Opposition parties - the BNP led by Begum Zia and Jatiya Party led by Gen. H. M. Ershad - have refrained from making any comment on the Dhaka-Islamabad row. Sheikh Hasina has defended her remarks at the U.N., stating that it was not directed at any individual or country. ``If these comments made anyone uncomfortable'', she said, ``so be it... I cannot help it because I have been saying it for long, and will continue to do so''.

Diplomatic analysts here do not see any immediate fallout from the stand-off between Dhaka and Islamabad, but they say that the peace initiative which Sheikh Hasina had begun, especially after the nuclear detonations by Delhi and Islamabad, may face a jolt.

Some former Bangladesh diplomats and political commentators said that Islamabad may take some time to realise the impact of its ``harsh reaction''.

The Bangladesh side, one top official said, was caught unawares when the scheduled Hasina-Musharraf meeting, organised reportedly at the request of Islamabad, was unceremoniously cancelled. ``Such a behaviour is not permitted in the diplomatic grammar'', one diplomat said.

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Section  : International
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