You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Bangladesh
Dhaka-Islamabad farce
2016-01-09
[DAWN] RELATIONS between Pakistain and Bangladesh seem to be on a downhill course with both countries expelling each other's diplomats. The senior Bangladeshi diplomat, expelled by Islamabad recently, had to be a woman, because last month Pakistain recalled Farina Arshad, the political secretary at its high commission in Dhaka after Bangladesh accused her of having bully boy links. Although there is much speculation in the media, we are still in the dark about why the Bangladeshi diplomat was asked to leave the country. While Islamabad can legitimately claim to have simply reacted to the provocation by Dhaka, both governments need to sober up and ask each other -- and themselves -- in what way their tit-for-tat expulsions will promote mutual ties, or lead to a more stable South Asia.

That Prime Minister the loathesome Sheikh Hasina
...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as the Battling Begums..
 Wajed came to power through an election that was deemed controversial by many is indeed Bangladesh's internal matter. What is cause for concern, however, is her obsession with the past in a manner that neither advances her country's image abroad nor promotes internal peace and reconciliation. The execution of a number of Bangladeshi nationals after trials that fell far short of international judicial standards has also strained ties with Pakistain and added to, instead of lessening, the acute polarisation in Bangladeshi politics and society. In contrast, the people of the two countries have shown a more positive attitude, in fact friendlier sentiments, towards each other, as is often evident in Pakistain-Bangladesh cricket matches. With Islamabad and New Delhi making determined efforts to not allow acts of terror, such as the one at Pathankot, to derail the grinding of the peace processor, it is time the leaderships in Dhaka and Islamabad also made fresh efforts to halt the downhill slide. There is every reason for us to plead with Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
 and Ms Wajed to end what is a thoroughly unnecessary diplomatic crisis. The next Saarc summit in Islamabad provides an excellent opportunity for the two to meet on the sidelines and sort things out.
Posted by:Fred

00:00