Pakistan government forces attacking many nationalities, says Bangladesh Information Minister
Bangladesh Information Minister, who is currently in India on a visit, talks exclusively to India Today about Indo-Pak relations, terrorism and more.
Smita Sharma | Posted by Samrudhi Ghosh
New Delhi, August 17, 2016 | UPDATED 01:23 IST
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Although Bangladesh has been an independent nation since 1971, they haven't quite got rid of Pakistan. Having earlier pointed fingers at Pakistan for the recent terror attack in Dhaka, Bangladesh Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, who is currently on an India visit, said that the Pakistan army continues to attack other nationalities and communities.
Speaking exclusively to Smita Sharma from India Today, the Minister discussed the Kashmir issue, Islamic preacher Zakir Naik and the SAARC summit. Here is the transcript:
Q: Narendra Modi spoke about Balochistan in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Is the situation similar to East Pakistan?
A:
We never called it East Pakistan from 1947. Pakistanis used to say East Pakistan. We used to say Bangladesh or East Bengal. Pakistan does have a very bad track record over the years. Pakistani authorities and army took a very negative position against other nationalities and religious entities. This is what happened in 1971, when Pakistan very brutally tried to suppress the Bangladeshi nationalism struggle. After that, when we are now a part of the SAARC process and regional cooperation, and we have developed diplomatic relations, Pakistan is still not changing their behaviour.
Q: Is it a similar uprising in Balochistan then?
A: We have to examine it.
Pakistan still has a connection in Bangladesh, and are trying to support many domestic terrorist networks. That is why we recently had to request Pakistani authorities to withdraw their diplomats. These diplomats coming to Bangladesh and working with their terrorists, which is in very bad taste for regional cooperation. Looking at the condition of Balochistan or other situations within Pakistan, Pakistan is already in an unstable position. Every day, there are terrorist attacks. At the same time, the government forces are attacking many nationalities and communities. We are examining the whole thing and after proper information and examination, the Bangladesh government will take a position.
Q: Do you think Islamabad has a moral ground to be raising the issue of Kashmir on every international platform, talking about human rights violations when images coming from inside Pakistan are gruesome themselves?
A: The Kashmir issue has been more or less thrashed out at the UN floor and it is now outside the UN floor. The Kashmir issue is a domestic issue between India and Pakistan, and not an international issue. Taking it to the international floor will not be of much help.
Q: Voices within India question Modi talking about Balochistan. They call it a diversionary tactic to take attention away from the fact that he is not able to stop unrest in Kashmir. Is India right in advocating for Balochistan?
A: Mr. Modi, the Prime Minister of India, is taking his position. I don't want to comment. But on the SAARC platform, we are not going to discuss the Kashmir issue.
Q: Bangladesh has banned Zakir Naik. The committee is looking into the matter here. Do you think he should be banned in this region?
A: Terrorism has a multi-dimensional approach, so it is not by killing one terrorist or arresting two terrorists that the problem will be solved. The Government of India, Bangladesh and the region needs to have a multidimensional approach.
Persons who are propagating hate, interpreting Quran and Hadith wrongly need to be taken care of. That is why Bangladesh has taken a bold position about Dr. Zakir Naik, his preaching and teaching and the Peace TV broadcast and network. We are looking towards India that it will take another bold position vis a vis Zakir Naik because we are very close neighbours.
Q: Is that something you have conveyed to the Indian Information Minister whom you had a meeting with?
A: That is not a matter of discussion. We have taken a position. India is looking into the matter. Any information that will help us, we will give to the Home Ministry.
Q: Arun Jaitley will likely not go to Pakistan for the SAARC finance ministers meet. And there were a lot of cold vibes when Rajnath Singh went. Do you think the SAARC process is in jeopardy because of the India-Pakistan tension? If the situation continues like this, will it be difficult for the Prime Minister or President to go to Pakistan for SAARC summit?
A: The SAARC process is always, over the years, a slow process because of certain problems between India and Pakistan. This is why the process is not smooth. These are irritations, but we from a Bangladeshi perspective want the SAARC process to continue.
Q: Is SAARC yielding any results or is sub-regionalism the way forward? And should people stop talking about SAARC since it is hostage to India-Pakistan bilateral relations?
A: Politically, we want regional cooperation so we will stand by the SAARC process. But since the SAARC process is slow, we are advocating sub-regionalism because India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan will have an effective result if we cooperate at that level.
Q: If the Prime Minister or President of India decide that since Pakistan is not acting against terror groups and hence they will not go, will India be held responsible for derailing the process or will Pakistan be accountable to the other members?
A: These are irritations. Not attending a particular SAARC meeting does not destroy SAARC. Pakistan will have to make her position very clear vis-a-vis terrorism.
Q: If the Prime Minister or President of any member country does not attend, as per protocol, the summit meeting cannot happen...
A: If the Prime Minister or President does not attend, the particular summit meeting will fail, but the SAARC process will continue.
Q: Following the Holey Artisan bakery terror attack, lots of groups have been cracked down upon. Two American citizens have also been detained. Is there any particular lead or information that you have shared with Indian counterparts?
A: When it comes to the question of information vis-a-vis the Gulshan attack or the Solakia attack, the Interior Minister did have a meeting with their Indian counterpart. So they took it up. There is an agreement between India and Bangladesh to share information to tackle terrorism. That matter is tackled there.
Q: Are you still maintaining that despite the IS claims, the bakery attack was handiwork of local groups, and there is no IS in Bangladesh?
A:
As far as today, Bangladesh does not have any information about the IS organisational network in Bangladesh. We claim these are homegrown domestic terror networks having no organisational link with any other foreign terror group.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/...n-kashmir-balochistan-terrorism/1/742559.html
Bangladesh backs Modi on Balochistan
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Union Minister for I&B M. Venkaiah Naidu shakes hands with his Bangladeshi counterpart Hasanul Haque Inu in New Delhi on Wednesday.
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Visiting Minister says Dhaka will soon make a policy declaration on Pakistan’s human rights abuses in the restive region.
Bangladesh on Wednesday came out in support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s stand on the Balochistan issue, saying Dhaka would soon make a policy declaration on Pakistan’s human rights abuses in Balochistan.
Speaking to
The Hindu, Hasanul Haque Inu, the visiting Minister of Information in the Sheikh Hasina government, said Balochistan was facing the brunt of Pakistan’s military establishment, which “targeted” the Bengalis in East Pakistan in 1971 before the creation of Bangladesh.
“Pakistan has a very bad track record as far as addressing aspiration of nationalities is concerned. They learnt nothing from the defeat of 1971 and continued to practise the same policy of repression and are now targeting the Baloch nationalists,” Mr. Inu said.
“Bangladesh is constitutionally bound to support liberation struggles and we will soon declare an official policy on Balochistan,” he added.
Key meetings
His comment comparing the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 with the situation in Balochistan came a day after Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar compared East Pakistan of 1971 with “simmering Balochistan”.
Mr. Inu is scheduled to spend three days in Delhi, meeting a range of policy-makers, including National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
Mr. Inu, a former leader of the Mukti Bahini, the guerrilla force that fought against Pakistan during 1971 war, said Pakistan’s inability to learn from its “historic mistakes” could be explained by the fact that it failed to evolve into a working democracy due to the domination of the Pakistan military in the vital affairs of the state.
‘Pakistan exports terror’
The leader of the Jatiyo Samajtantrik Party (JSD) also said as part of the counter-terror strategy, India and Bangladesh have agreed on a “MoU on data exchange”, which will ensure pre-emptive intervention targeting terrorists.
“Bangladesh wants India to partner a joint effort to control distortion of Islam and history, which can safeguard the memory of 1971,” the minister said.
In the last few years, Dhaka has detected multiple cases where Pakistani diplomats posted in Bangladesh were found to have been involved in terror plots.
“Pakistan exports terror and Pakistan needs to be confronted about the futility of its policies that it has refused to change till now,” Mr. Inu said, sounding a note of caution that Pakistan’s tactics could impact the spirit of regional cooperation in the South Asia region and the SAARC.
Bangladesh, he said, is worried of the fallout of Pakistan’s official policies regarding nationalities and promotion of cross border violence.
Seeks explanation
“Islamabad needs to explain what it wishes to achieve by promoting cross-border terrorism in South Asia and by repressing democratic nationalities like the Baloch in its territory,” Mr. Inu said.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/bangladesh-backs-modi-on-balochistan/article8999721.ece
why your minister would try to get involved in this spat between us and india unless they wanted to gargle indian balls
Kallol Bhattacherjee
