The diplomatic row between Pakistan and Bangladesh has gotten out of hand and the problem needs to be reeled in fast. Bangladesh has recalled its High Commissioner in Pakistan amid the diplomatic spat between the two countries over the 1971 war crimes trial and Islamabad’s withdrawal of a “terror-linked” diplomat from Dhaka. The situation has solely been created and made worse by the Bangladeshi government.
Fortunately, Pakistan does not have much of a stake in the future stability of Bangladesh anymore. Bangladesh can throw as much of a tantrum as it wants, Pakistan has bigger issues to worry about than a weaker country’s angst. However, the situation is not as simple to ignore for the Bangladeshi people, where the row with Pakistan is symptomatic of the ruling party, the Bangladesh Awami League, wanting to eliminate all dissent from its path and all version of history it does not agree with.
The situation in the Bangladeshi and Indian media is being portrayed as Pakistan being unproportionally “upset” at the executions. However, what is unproportional is the official Bangladeshi reaction. Previously, the Second Secretary in the Pakistan High Commission Fareena Arshad left Dhaka two days after Bangladesh accused her of terrorist links. Pakistan, with grace, withdrew the diplomat but denied that she had links with any terrorist outfit in Bangladesh. Then, last week, Dhaka University cut its ties with all Pakistani universities amid continued outrage over Islamabad’s reactions following execution of BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and Jamaat-e-Islami’s secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed for committing war crimes. This outrage over a single statement of Pakistan, which said that Pakistan was “deeply disturbed” over the executions, might be because the nation does carry some guilt over the executions. We all know that the trials were a farce, and even international groups like Amnesty and Human Rights Watch were up in arms over the weak evidence provided against the accused.
Bangladesh is not a country looking to the future. In comparison, thankfully, Pakistan is.
