Dhaka, July 8 (bdnews24.com)Only a week after Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh's comment that political landscape in Bangladesh may change anytime, his external affairs minister has reportedly hoped to work with the BNP regime in the future. "New Delhi worked with the BNP regime in the past and it would also work with it in the future," S M Krishna was quoted as saying by BNP vice chairman Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury on Friday.
The visiting Indian minister made the comment during his meeting with the opposition chief Khaleda Zia at her Gulshan office on Friday, said Mobin at a press briefing after the meeting. Krishna came to Dhaka on a three-day visit on Wednesday to discuss bilateral issues and prepare the groundwork for the visit of the Indian prime minister in September.
Indian foreign minister at a talk on Bangladesh-India partnership said the rise of religious fundamentalism, extremism and terrorism are not unfamiliar to the region. "Such forces sap away the strength of our societies, threaten our state systems and are an impediment to our advancement," he said India and Bangladesh have had good cooperation in fighting such forces, he added. "It is imperative that we continue to join hands to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations."
Manmohan at a meeting with newspaper editors last week in New Delhi said: "Our relations (with Bangladesh) are quite good. But we must reckon that at least 25 percent of the population of Bangladesh swear by the [Jamaat-e-Islami] and they are very anti-Indian, and they are in the clutches, many times, of the ISI."
"So, a political landscape in Bangladesh can change at any time. We do not know what these terrorist elements, who have a hold on the [Jamaat-e-Islami] elements in Bangladesh, can be up to," said Singh. The Prime Minister's Office in India uploaded the transcript of the Q&A session but later edited it out. The Singh comments caused a clamour not only in Bangladesh, but also back home where former high commissioners who had served in Dhaka dismissed them as 'irresponsible'. Bangladesh did not made any official comment on the issue, but according to sources, the issue came up for discussions when high commissioner Rajeet Mitter met foreign secretary Mohammed Mijarul Quayes last week.
bdnews24.com/ssz/bd/1721h
The visiting Indian minister made the comment during his meeting with the opposition chief Khaleda Zia at her Gulshan office on Friday, said Mobin at a press briefing after the meeting. Krishna came to Dhaka on a three-day visit on Wednesday to discuss bilateral issues and prepare the groundwork for the visit of the Indian prime minister in September.
Indian foreign minister at a talk on Bangladesh-India partnership said the rise of religious fundamentalism, extremism and terrorism are not unfamiliar to the region. "Such forces sap away the strength of our societies, threaten our state systems and are an impediment to our advancement," he said India and Bangladesh have had good cooperation in fighting such forces, he added. "It is imperative that we continue to join hands to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations."
Manmohan at a meeting with newspaper editors last week in New Delhi said: "Our relations (with Bangladesh) are quite good. But we must reckon that at least 25 percent of the population of Bangladesh swear by the [Jamaat-e-Islami] and they are very anti-Indian, and they are in the clutches, many times, of the ISI."
"So, a political landscape in Bangladesh can change at any time. We do not know what these terrorist elements, who have a hold on the [Jamaat-e-Islami] elements in Bangladesh, can be up to," said Singh. The Prime Minister's Office in India uploaded the transcript of the Q&A session but later edited it out. The Singh comments caused a clamour not only in Bangladesh, but also back home where former high commissioners who had served in Dhaka dismissed them as 'irresponsible'. Bangladesh did not made any official comment on the issue, but according to sources, the issue came up for discussions when high commissioner Rajeet Mitter met foreign secretary Mohammed Mijarul Quayes last week.
bdnews24.com/ssz/bd/1721h
