Bangladesh open to joining bloc with Pakistan, sans India

IT IS strategically possible for Dhaka to join a regional bloc with Paki­stan at some point — one that does not include India — unlike other South Asian states, a top Ban­gladeshi official said on Wednesday.

The state-owned Bang­ladesh Sangbad Sangstha news agency quoted Dha­ka’s Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain as saying: “It is possible for us (Bang­ladesh) strategically … (but) it is not possible for Nepal or Bhutan to form a grouping with Pakistan excluding India”.

His remarks are being interpreted as a response to a statement by Pakis­tan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar at the recent ‘Islamabad Conclave’, where he had said a trilateral initiative involving Bangladesh, China and Pakistan had begun and may expand to include countries within and beyond the region.

According to the Bang­ladeshi outlet, Mr Hossain said Mr Dar “has said something, and perhaps at some point this could see some progress”.

In August, Foreign Minister Dar visited Bangladesh for the first time in 13 years.