India-Bangladesh relations have hit an all-time low after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, coming to the helm in Dhaka.
India-Bangladesh relations: In what has come as surprise for Pakistani experts, India’s intelligence agencies knew “everything” about the movements of the four-member delegation of Pakistan’s notorious spy agency ISI when they recently visited Bangladesh. Speaking to a new channel, former Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit, admitted that India still maintains a strong presence inside Bangladesh, and knew “everything” about the ISI team’s visit to Dhaka.
‘India knew everything’
“India knew everything, the flight number, when the flight landed who were present in it, even the route they were taking after landing in Dhaka, New Delhi still has a strong presence inside Bangladesh,” Basit said. “India’s intelligence network remains strong, their people are present everywhere, from the airport to the streets and markets in Dhaka,” the former diplomat added, while urging the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government to pay attention to this fact.
However, Basit claimed that ISI delegation’s trip, was a “regular visit”, and not a cause of concern for India, while expressing surprise that New Delhi opted to keep a close watch on the affair.
He said the Pakistani delegation kept things as quiet as they could but failed to gauge the strength of Indian intelligence network in Bangladesh, who managed to sniff them out, and even found out their flight number, arrival and departure time.
The former diplomat urged Yunus government in Dhaka to “pay attention” to this fact, and step up measures to weaken India’s intelligence network in Bangladesh.
ISI delegation visits Bangladesh
Basit’s comments came after top military officials from Pakistan and Bangladesh exchanged reciprocal visits to the each other’s respective countries within a span of less than a week, with a six-member Bangladeshi delegation led by Bangladesh Army’s principal staff officer (PSO) of Armed Forces Division, Lt General SM Kamrul Hassan, embarking on a 4-day visit to Pakistan from January 13-18, where they reportedly met Islamabad’s top military leadership in Rawalpindi, including Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir.
Barely a week later, a delegation of senior officials of the Pakistan Army and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)– Islamabad’s infamous spy agency– arrived in Dhaka on a four-day visit on January 21.
The four-member delegation, reportedly headed by ISI chief Lt Gen Muhammad Asim Malik, also included Major General Alam Amir Awan, and Major General Shahid Amir Afsar– ISI’s chief of analysis who previously served as Pakistan’s defence attache in Beijing.
India-Bangladesh relations
India-Bangladesh relations have hit an all-time low after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, coming to the helm in Dhaka.
Widespread communal violence against minorities in Bangladesh, especially Hindus, which has soured Dhaka’s ties with New Delhi, with the latter accusing the Yunus-led interim government of not doing enough, and turning a blind eye to the atrocities perpetrated by radical Islamist elements against the minority Hindu community in the country.
Notably, amid rising tensions in India-Bangladesh relations, Dhaka is reportedly preparing for a direct military confrontation with India, according to a recent intelligence report.
