With student protests, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigning and fleeing to safety, and Mohammed Yunus returning to Bangladesh to lead the interim government, the South Asian country has been going through turmoil, and the former premier staying in neighbouring India further complicates the matter.
However, the Foreign Affairs Adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government, Mohamad Touhid Hossain, assured that former PM Sheikh Hasina living in India’s capital New Delhi won’t change the nature of the bilateral relationship between Bangladesh and India.
“There will be no impact on the bilateral relationship between the two countries due to one individual’s stay in another country. Bilateral relations involve substantial mutual interests. Both India and Bangladesh have their respective interests,” Hossain said during the first diplomatic briefing on Monday (August 12), according to the Dhaka Tribune.
“We stress that the government shall adhere to all international, regional and bilateral instruments it is a party to and shall remain a proponent of multilateralism with the UN at the core,’’ Hossein added.
The briefing was attended by representatives from all diplomatic missions in Dhaka, including UN agencies. “Bangladesh is on the brink of a new beginning. We are proud of our students for being the vanguard of the new Bangladesh they envision,” he said, according to media reports.
The situation in Bangladesh remains unstable. Banks are dealing with liquidity problems, and inflation for the month has hit a 12-year peak at 11.66 per cent, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
Hindu protesters in Bangladesh are calling for the protection of their homes and places of worship, reservations, five-day holidays for Puja, and the creation of a special ministry for minorities.
On Thursday, Muhammad Yunus, an 84-year-old Nobel laureate, took the oath as the leader of an interim government, just days after student protests brought an end to Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year reign. He was sworn in as the chief adviser, a role similar to that of a prime minister.
(With inputs from agencies)