Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. Photo : Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pkistan

By Tanzim Anwar

DHAKA, April 24, 2025 (BSS) - Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar is scheduled to arrive here on Sunday on a two-day official visit, with both countries working to finalize several instruments expected to be signed during the visit.

"It is yet to be confirmed how many instruments will be signed, but there is a strong possibility that multiple Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) will be concluded," a senior official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told BSS today.

This visit is being regarded as a significant development in Bangladesh-Pakistan relations, marking the first visit by a Pakistani foreign minister in 13 years.

Diplomats view the tour as a potential ice-breaker to normalize bilateral ties that had remained strained for over a decade.

"If we want to normalize Bangladesh-Pakistan relations, high-level visits like this are essential," the official noted, adding that both Dhaka and Islamabad are now showing a willingness to re-engage and establish a functional working relationship.

Bilateral relations between the two South Asian nations had experienced a sharp decline during the previous ousted Awami League regime, with both countries scaling back diplomatic engagements and significantly restricting visa issuance for each other's nationals.

Officials said that economic cooperation, easing of visa processes, and enhanced people-to-people contacts are key prerequisites for fostering constructive bilateral ties.

Dhaka also expects Islamabad to address several long-standing historical issues, including the settlement of financial dues arising from the division of pre-independence assets. "It needs to be resolved-who gets what portion of the shared assets," the official emphasized.

According to the itinerary, Ishaq Dar will arrive in Dhaka on Sunday afternoon by a special flight and will depart on Monday evening.

Bangladesh's Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain and his Pakistan counterpart Dar will hold bilateral talks on Monday morning at the State Guest House Padma.

"He (Dar) will also pay a courtesy call on the Honourable Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus in the afternoon," the foreign ministry official said, adding that meetings with representatives of the business community are also on the agenda.

The groundwork for the visit was laid during the foreign secretary-level Foreign Office Consultation (FOC) held in Dhaka on April 17 last, the first such meeting in 15 years.

"In anticipation of the foreign minister's visit, a joint working group comprising officials from the foreign ministry and the Pakistan High Commission here has been formed. Their task is to finalize the proposed MoUs through consultations with relevant ministries," Bangladesh's Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin said at a post-FOC media briefing.

During the FOC, Dhaka urged Islamabad to adopt a "strong forward-looking approach" by addressing historical grievances, including a formal apology for the genocide committed during the 1971 Liberation War and resolution of outstanding financial issues linked to pre-independence assets.

Key issues raised included the repatriation of stranded Pakistanis, equitable distribution of undivided assets, transfer of foreign aid intended for the victims of the 1970 Bhola cyclone, and a formal public apology for the atrocities carried out by the then Pakistani military in 1971.

According to the foreign secretary, Bangladesh has demanded the repatriation of US$4.3 billion as its share of pre-independence common assets, in addition to an unpaid US$200 million foreign donation originally allocated for victims of the 1970 cyclone in East Pakistan.

Foreign affairs analysts in Dhaka, while commenting to BSS on the high-level visit, have said that much will depend on the political follow-up to the recent FOC, particularly regarding Islamabad's position on the 1971 genocide apology and asset settlement.

Former diplomat and foreign relation expert ambassador Humayun Kabir said that the issues raised in the FOC could yield some results during the visit of Pakistani deputy prime minister and foreign minister Dar.
 
Kabir, who runs the private Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) think tank, said the issue of Pakistan's official apology came up in the FOC and if an apology could absolve an old scar, there should be no reason Islamabad should not do so for improved ties with Dhaka.
 
Former ambassador Mahfuzur Rahman said the follow up of the talks at the FOC level could get a direction at the political level talks when Dar would visit Dhaka later this month.
 
"We expect to see the follow up of talks which we had at the foreign secretary level meeting," said Rahman, who once served as the deputy high commissioner of Bangladesh in Islamabad.