Will India-Bangladesh go for a tit-for-tat relationship or the two countries nourish good neigbourly ties based on mutual cooperation and benefit?
Will Dhaka and New Delhi try their best to keep the old and traditional relationship intact after these became strained with the change of government in Dhaka?
The fingers are crossed and the political observers are keenly watching the development after S Jaishankar asked Bangladesh to decide what kind of relationship it wants to have with its neighbouring country.
Keeping aside diplomatic nuances, the Indian Foreign Minister told Bangladesh bluntly that you can not blame your neighbour for everything going on in your country every day.
Bangladesh: We Will Take Care Of Minorities
However, his Bangladesh counterpart replied curtly, which can be called irritating.
Touhid Hossain, Bangladesh’s interim government’s advisor on foreign affairs, asked India not to think about its minorities.
He said, “We are taking care of the minorities living in our country, they have equal rights as us, and we have to ensure that these rights are not snatched.”
He said this after India had expressed its concerns over attacks on minorities, including Hindus in Bangladesh.
Hossain told journalists, “Bangladesh wants good working relations with India based on mutual respect and common interests. There is no ambiguity on this issue.”
India-Bangladesh Ties To Reset?
He also slammed former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for criticising the interim government while living in India.
Hossain said, “If we want to improve relations, it is not good that a former prime minister continues to criticise the government while enjoying the facilities provided by the host country.”
Does Sheikh Hasina Irritate Bangladesh?
He also said that Sheikh Hasina should be extradited to Bangladesh and face the trial in the country and India should restrict her activities till she is sent back.
S Jaishankar met Touhid Hossain last week in Oman on the sidelines of the 8th Indian Ocean Conference.
Earlier last month, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri went to Dhaka to meet Hossain and the chief advisor to the interim government, Muhammad Yunus.
Both sides agreed to work closely on mutual interests and improve relations.
However, the Nobel laureate raised the issue of Sheikh Hasina and reiterated that she should be returned to Bangladesh.
Sheikh Hasina fled her country and arrived in India on August 5, 2024, after thousands of people stormed her official residence, ransacked it and looted almost everything present there.
