THE Foreign Office has done well by out rightly rejecting Indian propaganda about Pakistan’s involvement in the ouster of ex-Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, terming it New Delhi’s disturbing obsession with Pakistan. The comments came after reports emerged from India accusing the Pakistan intelligence agencies for their alleged involvement in the collapse of Bangladesh’s government. Reacting to the Indian media reports, FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, during a weekly press briefing in Islamabad on Friday, rejected all such statements, stressing that Pakistan had no involvement in the events that took place in Bangladesh.
India is in the habit of sparing no opportunity to malign Pakistan and its security agencies, especially the premier intelligence agency, the ISI and this latest propaganda is surely part of Pakistan-bashing aimed at trying to create bad perception about the role of the country in regional affairs and sowing seeds of misunderstanding between Pakistan and people of Bangladesh. This is despite the fact that Pakistan does not believe in the policy of regime change or interference in the internal affairs of other countries. Instead, Pakistan has a track record of going the extra mile to promote good neighbourly relations with all countries including India, which harbours aggressive and nefarious designs against Pakistan every now and then. Events in Bangladesh that led to the fall of the Government of Sheikh Hasina were spontaneous and assumed dangerous dimensions due to wrong handling of the situation by the Awami League Government. People of Pakistan respected the will and aspirations of the people of Bangladesh but India, unfortunately, finds itself on the wrong side of history by subscribing to Hasina’s views and strategy vis-à-vis the democratic struggle of the people. The Foreign Office spokesperson has rightly pointed out that Indian political leaders and their media habitually blamed Pakistan for their failures in domestic and foreign policy, expressing confidence that the resilient spirit and unity of the Bangladeshi people would lead them towards a harmonious future. It is also a matter of record that people of Bangladesh demonstrated their love for democracy and merit by throwing their weight behind the decision to install a caretaker government led by a Nobel laureate, who has a track record of pursuing a welfare-oriented agenda. Instead of beating about the bush, India must learn to respect the aspirations of the people of Bangladesh.
