Pakistan, Bangladesh sign six agreements during deputy premier’s Dhaka visit
Bangladesh and Pakistan signed six agreements on Sunday, including a visa-free travel deal for official passport holders, during the first visit by a Pakistani foreign minister to Dhaka in 13 years.
The accords, signed after talks between Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Bangladesh’s Foreign Adviser Md. Touhid Hossain, also cover trade, cultural exchange, cooperation between state media and foreign service academies, and the creation of a joint working group on trade.
Dar urged both countries to “forget the past” and build stronger ties, saying disputes over the 1971 war had been addressed decades earlier. Hossain, however, insisted Pakistan must apologise for atrocities committed during Bangladesh’s independence war, repatriate stranded citizens, and resolve pending asset issues.
Bangladesh’s interim government has signaled interest in resetting ties with Islamabad after years of strained relations under Sheikh Hasina. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan, also in Dhaka, said direct Karachi–Dhaka flights are expected to resume by year’s end to boost trade and connectivity.
The last Pakistani foreign minister to visit Bangladesh was Hina Rabbani Khar in 2012.
