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ISI delegation from Pakistan visits Dhaka raising concerns for India as Pakistan and Bangladsh revive military relations with Muhammad Yunus running things now

Amidst increasing military engagement between Bangladesh and Pakistan, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) released a statement on Friday stating that Delhi has been closely monitoring the developments in its neighbourhood. The MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the government has been keeping an eye on activities that affect national security.

“We keep an eye on all the activities around the country and in the region, as well as activities affecting national security, and the government will take appropriate steps”, Jaiswal said.

Speaking during a media briefing, Jaiswal asserted that India wants to maintain friendly relations with Bangladesh. “We support a democratic, progressive and inclusive Bangladesh. We want to strengthen our ties so that the people of India and Bangladesh can prosper”, he said.

An ISI delegation is on a four-day visit to Dhaka

The MEA statement came after a four-member delegation of Pakistan’s intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) went on a four-day visit to Bangladesh on January 21. The delegation included the ISI’s Director General of Analysis, Major General Shahid Amir Afsar. Afsar previously served as Pakistan’s defense attache in Beijing.

The visit was preceded by the visit of a six-member Bangladeshi delegation to Pakistan. The delegation headed by Lt Gen Kamrul Hasan, the Principal Staff Officer of the Armed Forces Division, met the top military leadership of Pakistan including Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir in Rawalpindi during January 13-18. In December last year, Chief Advisor of Bangladesh Government Muhammad Yunus and Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif met in Cairo during the D-8 Summit.

The last publicly acknowledged visit by a senior ISI official to Bangladesh was in 2009 when the ISI sent an officer to help Dhaka quell a revolt in the Bangladeshi paramilitary force.

ISI met ULFA commander Paresh Barua

As per a report of News18, the ISI officials also met Paresh Barua, the commander of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) who is imprisoned in Bangladesh. ULFA is an armed separatist military organisation operating in the Northeast state of Assam, India. It seeks to establish an independent state of Assam through armed struggle. Notably, the training camps of the ULFA have also cropped up recently around the Kashalong Reserve Forest area along the Maslong River in Bangladesh which is close to the Indian border. Camps have also been set up in the Baghaichari sub-district and Dighinallah areas. These camps were shut down under the Sheikh Hasina government.

Bangladesh-ISI relations came to a halt during the Hasina government

The recent military engagements between the two Islamic countries have particularly alarmed Delhi since under the ousted Sheikh Hasina government, Bangladesh’s military engagements with Pakistan had come to a halt. The Hasina government dealt with the ISI’s interference in Bangladesh with an iron hand. The Hasina government prosecuted several people on the charges of colluding with Pakistan during the 1971 War of Liberation.

This resulted in ISI’s covert operations, political interference, and support for extremist groups coming to an end. However, after the overthrow of the Hasina government, the interim government led by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus has been showing an inclination towards Pakistan. The sudden revival of military contacts between the countries has naturally caused concern in India.

India-Bangladesh relations spiraling downwards since the ouster of the Hasina government

The relations between India and Bangladesh have been facing a downturn ever since the Sheikh Hasina government was overthrown on August 5, 2024. Protests that started as a ‘student protest’ turned into a violent revolution in which Hindu minorities in the country were persecuted. Sheikh Hasina had to flee Bangladesh. She sought refuge in India and has been staying here since her request for asylum was declined by the UK.

The new regime led by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus that took over after the Hasina government has been unsuccessful in curbing violence against religious minorities in Bangladesh as well as in restoring normalcy. The interim government has also been showing a hostile attitude towards India while fostering military relations with Pakistan.

Recently, Bangladesh vehemently opposed the fencing work being carried out by the Border Security Force (BSF) of India along the Indo-Bangladesh border to curb the growing problem of infiltration. On the other hand, Bangladesh constructed a permanent river embankment at zero point along the border in Tripura without informing India which was in clear violation of the Indira-Mujib Treaty.

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OpIndia Staff
OpIndia Staffhttps://www.opindia.com
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