Meeting Between Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and BNP-Jamaat Leaders — What Was Discussed

Darwin, August 24 —Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, currently visiting Dhaka, held meetings with top leaders of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami. While the BNP has not issued any official statement regarding the agenda or discussion points of the meeting, leaders of Jamaat spoke to the media.

The two separate meetings were held on Saturday afternoon and evening at the Pakistan High Commission in Gulshan, Dhaka.

According to BNP Media Cell member Shairul Kabir Khan, the BNP delegation was led by party Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and included Standing Committee members Dr. Abdul Moyeen Khan, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, and Selima Rahman.

Also present at the meeting were BNP Vice Chairman and former Home Minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, and International Affairs Committee member Shama Obaid.

From the Pakistani side, the delegation included Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, former High Commissioner Imran Ahmed Siddiqui, current High Commissioner Imran Haider, State Bank Governor Tariq Bajwa, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ilyas Mahmood Nizami, Muhammad Umair Latif, Director Dildar Ali Abro, and Deputy Chief of Protocol Hafizullah.

On the same day in the afternoon, a five-member Jamaat-e-Islami delegation also met with Ishaq Dar. According to a press release from the party’s Central Publicity Department, the meeting was held in a warm and cordial atmosphere.

Pakistan’s High Commissioner Imran Haider and other officials were present during the meeting. The Jamaat delegation included Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher, Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar, Assistant Secretary General Maulana ATM Masum, Advocate Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair, and Central Executive Committee member and Secretary of Publicity and Media, Matiur Rahman Akand.

The discussions focused on the current situation in Bangladesh and mutual development and progress. Both parties expressed optimism about future bilateral cooperation for growth and advancement.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher said, “We discussed issues related to the interests of both countries, regional trade, and ways to enhance bilateral relations. We also talked about how to strengthen fraternal ties between the two Muslim nations and how to revitalize and strengthen the regional bloc SAARC.”

Commenting on Bangladesh’s foreign policy over the past 15 years, he said, “Bangladesh’s foreign policy has been somewhat one-sided. Now the government and we all believe that it is important to maintain good relations with all neighboring countries. Both sides emphasized this point.”

When asked by journalists about unresolved issues from 1971, Taher responded, “These are matters to be discussed between the two governments. We hope our government will address these issues in official talks.”

According to Jamaat’s Central Publicity Department official Mujibul Alam, Ishaq Dar is scheduled to visit Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman at his residence in Bashundhara on Sunday afternoon.