Pakistan Army attacks other communities and Nationalities, says Bangladesh Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu

• Bilateral trade has risen to $7 million and the Indian government has decided to sell another 100 MW of power to Bangladesh
• Hasanul Haq Inu is of the opinion that the Government of India, Bangladesh and the region needs to have a multidimensional approach to deal with terrorists
• He claimed that Bangladesh does not have any information about the IS organisational network in Bangladesh

New Delhi, August 18, 2016: Over the past decade, there has been a significant upswing in the relations between India and Bangladesh. Bilateral trade has risen to $7 million and the Indian government has decided to sell another 100 MW of power to Bangladesh. India and Bangladesh have so much in common and through several initiatives, they are deepening their relation. On the other hand, ever since Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan, the ties between the two lands have not been improved. Fingers have been pointed at Pakistan for the recent terror attack in Dhaka and Bangladesh is of the opinion that the Pakistan army continues to attack other nationalities and communities as well.

Bangladesh Information Minister, Hasanul Haq Inu who is currently in India on a visit, has commented about Indo-Pak relations, terrorism, the Kashmir issue, Islamic preacher Zakir Naik and the SAARC summit. Hasanul Haq Inu is the President of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), an ally of the ruling grand alliance and the current Information Minister for the Government of the people's republic of Bangladesh.

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When asked whether the situation in Balochistan, Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) are similar to that of East Pakistan or not, he talked about the suppressing attitude of the Pakistani authorities and army against other nationalities and religious entities. He said, that despite being an independent nation and a part of the SAARC process and regional cooperation, it is still treated as East Pakistan and not an independent and proud Bangladesh.

According to the India Today report, the recent withdrawal of the Pakistani diplomats was due to the claim by Bangladesh, that they were working with the terrorists. With terrorist attacks taking place almost every day and the government forces attacking many nationalities and communities, the Pakistan is in an unstable position. The case of Balochistan is still being looked upon and only after proper examination, the Bangladesh government will take a position, he added.

Islamabad has been raising the issue of Kashmir on every international platform, talking about human rights violations but the situation within Pakistan clearly shows where people are being denied their freedom. He said to India Today that the Kashmir issue has been "thrashed out at the UN floor " and is a domestic issue between India and Pakistan.

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While the committee in India is still looking into the case of Zakir Naik, Bangladesh has already banned him. He is of the opinion that the Government of India, Bangladesh and the region needs to have a multidimensional approach to deal with terrorists and claimed that anyone propagating hate, interpreting Quran and Hadith wrongly need to be taken care of. He feels that India too will take a bold position against Zakir Naik.

Political tensions and mutual suspicions between SAARC members especially between India and Pakistan have disrupted its smooth functioning. This is because the SAARC process is slow, sub-regionalism is being advocated. India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan might bring about changes if cooperation takes place at that level.

The Indian and Bangladesh team have always shared information to reduce the growing terrorist attacks. Hasanul Haq Inu said that the Interior Minister had a meeting with the Indian counterpart to deal with the Gulshan attack or the Solakia attack. There is an agreement between India and Bangladesh to share information to tackle terrorism.

There have been several claims about the presence of a functioning group of IS (Islamic State) in Bangladesh but Hasanul said, Bangladesh does not have any information about the IS organisational network in Bangladesh and they believe that these are the work of homegrown domestic terror networks.

– prepared by Ajay Krishna of NewsGram. Twitter: @ajkrish14

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