'Bangladesh Our Long Lost Brother': Pakistan Minister to Visit Dhaka Amid Attacks on Hindus

New Delhi: Amid escalated tensions between India and Bangladesh over attacks on Hindu minorities in the latter country, Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has made a bold statement on Pakistan's relationship with India and has also called Bangladesh a ‘long lost brother'. Pakistan Deputy PM Ishaq Dar's statements come ahead of his Dhaka visit next month and the meeting between Muhammad Yunus and Shahbaz Sharif last month.

‘B'desh Our Long Lost Brother, Will Visit Dhaka in Feb’: Pak Foreign Minister

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that he will be visiting Dhaka soon as Bangladesh is Pakistan's 'long lost brother'. Ishaq Dar's visit to Dhaka will be a first by a Pakistan Foreign Minister since 2012.

Ishaq Dar further said that he will be visiting Dhaka in February, on the invitation of his Bangladeshi counterpart; he has also confirmed that Bangladesh Chief Executive Muhammad Yunus has accepted Pakistan's invitation to Islamabad on mutually agreed dates.

Shehbaz Sharif Meeting with Muhammad Yunus

Earlier, Bangladesh Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus met Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif in Cairo, on the sidelines of D-8 summit on December 19 and agreed to strengthen the bilateral ties. Mohammad Yunus in a facebook post informed about their meeting, saying that they agreed to "strengthen relations between the two countries through increased trade, commerce, and exchange of sports and cultural delegations."

Ishaq Dar and Yunus's Special Envoy Lutfey Siddiqi, were among others present on the occasion. Yunus in his post informed that Siddiqi invited Pakistan foreign minister Dar to visit Bangladesh in February on his way to a Malaysia tour, and he accepted the offer.

Yunus and Sharif also discussed issues of mutual interest, including the revival of the SAARC--a key feature of the foreign policy announced by the Chief Adviser after he took over as the head of the Interim Government. Yunus also urged Pakistan to settle the issues of 1971 to help Dhaka move forward with its relationship with Islamabad. 

"The issues have kept coming again and again. Let's settle those issues for us to move forward," Yunus told Sharif.Yunus said it would be nice to resolve things "once and for all for the future generations." Pakistan PM also reassured to strengthen the ties between both countries, "We are really looking forward to strengthening our relationship with our brother-in-country Bangladesh," Sharif said as mentioned in the post by Yunus.

‘It Takes Two to Tango’: Ishaq Dar on India-Pakistan Relations

Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday (local time) urged India to improve ties between both countries and said "it takes two to tango," ARY News reported. Speaking about Pakistan's trade ties with India, Dar emphasised the need to create an environment to help improve the relations.

Ishaq Dar's remark came in a press conference where he was giving a round-up on government efforts to bring economic stability and enhance Pakistan's diplomatic ties. This statement comes amid continuous attacks on Hindu minorities in Bangladesh and more recently, the arrest of the ISKCON monk Chinmoy Krishna Das.

(Inputs from ANI)