Bangladesh has expressed its willingness to consider, under the right strategic conditions, joining a regional grouping with Pakistan that excludes India, in a formulation that Dhaka considers not feasible for other South Asian countries.
State-run newspaper Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha reported that foreign advisor Md. Touhid Hossain, while talking about the evolving regional dynamics, commented: “It is possible for us (Bangladesh) strategically… (but) it is not possible for Nepal or Bhutan to form a grouping with Pakistan excluding India.”
The comment by a senior Bangladeshi official has been widely read as a response to Islamabad’s recent talk of new multilateral alignments in the region.
The assessment comes days after Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said at an ‘Islamabad Conclave’ that a trilateral initiative involving Pakistan, China and Bangladesh was already underway and could eventually be expanded to other states.
According to the Bangladesh media, Hossain noted that Dar “has said something, and maybe at some point this can see some progress.”
Speaking at the inaugural session of the 5th Islamabad Conclave, organized by the Islamabad Strategic Studies Institute (ISSI), Dar warned that South Asia could no longer remain trapped in “zero-sum mentalities, political fragmentation and dysfunctional regional architecture.”
He said Pakistan sought “open and inclusive regionalism” and expressed support for emerging multilateral platforms outside SAARC.
Dar said earlier this year that Pakistan, Bangladesh and China established a trilateral mechanism to foster mutual collaboration in areas of common interests.
“This concept can be expanded and replicated. As I have said before, groups with variable geometry – on issues ranging from the economy to regional priorities – cannot and should not be held hostage to anyone’s rigidity,” Dar said, in a veiled reference to India.
