“From the beginning of this government till today, there has been tension with India.”
That was Bangladesh’s foreign affairs adviser Touhid Hussain in the wake of the tit-for-tat summoning of their respective high commissioners in Dhaka and Delhi. He underscored that both sides need to make an effort to move the relationship forward.
India has sought to keep open lines of communication with Dhaka while awaiting the outcome of the February elections. But threats by the July Oikya, a group representing those who took part in the August uprising against Sheikh Hasina, including some anti-Indian elements, threatened to storm the Indian High Commission on Wednesday.
They have demanded the extradition of Sheikh Hasina and blamed India for infiltrating “proxies” in the Bangladesh election process. With tensions going up, the high commission in Dhaka shut the visa office early on Wednesday, although it reopened on Thursday.
Prothom Alo reported that the people blamed for the attack on Sharif Osman Hadi, a member of the August uprising and a potential election candidate for a Dhaka seat, have fled to India. Dhaka has demanded that if they are found in India, they should be arrested and handed over.
This was conveyed to Pranay Verma, India’s High Commissioner, who was summoned to the Foreign Ministry last Sunday. He was also told that the “anti-Bangladesh activities” of Sheikh Hasina in India must not be allowed.
They are likely to be even more miffed over the interview given to the Indian Express by Sajeeb Wazed Joy, the US-based son of Sheikh Hasina. He has warned that the elections in February will be rigged, given that his mother’s party, the Awami League, cannot contest.
“The Yunus regime has given Jamaat-e-Islami and other Islamist parties a free hand in the country. In Bangladesh, the Islamists have never received more than five per cent of the vote. By holding a rigged election where all progressive, liberal parties in Bangladesh are banned, the Yunus regime is trying to establish the Islamists in power,” Wazed said in an email interview.
“Terrorist training camps have already sprung up in Bangladesh. Known Al Qaeda operatives have been active there, and commanders of Pakistan LeT have spoken at public events there. So the threat to India is imminent and very real.”
It’s becoming increasingly clear that, notwithstanding India’s preference to steer clear of the goings on in Bangladesh, it is going to get drawn in as the election date nears and the politics gets ugly.
