Govt backed by Islamists will never understand relationship with India: Awami League

Dhaka, Nov 18 Former Bangladesh Minister and Awami League leader Mohammad Ali Arafat on Tuesday slammed the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, asserting that a government backed by Islamist extremists would never understand the party’s relationship with India.

The statement came after Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) pronounced a death sentence for the former Prime Minister after finding her guilty on the charges of "crimes against humanity" related to the demonstrations in July of last year.

The ICT also convicted two of Hasina's top aides, sentencing former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death and former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who turned state witness, to five years' imprisonment.

Dhaka on Monday also urged New Delhi to "immediately" hand over Hasina and Kamal, stating that the move is India's treaty-bound obligation.

Taking to X, Arafat said, “Our relations with India are not based only on 1971 but also on our mutual interests on many fronts, including jointly combating domestic and transnational terrorist groups. Under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina, the government not only signed the Land Boundary Agreement with India but also resolved the maritime boundary issue through a very respectful and constructive engagement".

“Many neighbouring countries have fought long wars over such matters, whereas Bangladesh and India resolved them peacefully. Our cooperation in the communications and energy sectors has also brought significant benefits to people on both sides,” he added.

Arafat stressed that the Awami League viewed relations with India through the lens of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, not through the lens of the Pakistani military establishment.

“Diplomacy based on cooperation and collaboration through the perspective of 1971 will always help resolve problems and improve the well-being of people on both sides, as it did so positively under Sheikh Hasina. In contrast, diplomacy with India shaped by the prescriptions of the Pakistani military establishment will lead only to mutual loss, with the people ultimately becoming the main losers. I would also refer to the idea of Game Theory for those who fail to understand this approach to diplomacy under Sheikh Hasina,” he stated.

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