Bangladeshi Traders "Forced" To Import From Pakistan Amid Growing Ties

In a concern for India, trade and maritime ties between Pakistan and Bangladesh seem to be getting stronger, with a second cargo vessel from Karachi reaching the Chittagong port this week. The Panama-flagged ship 'MV Yuan Xiang Fa Zhan' entered Bangladeshi waters on Sunday afternoon, according to Bangladeshi media reports. 

The vessel, which travelled via Karachi, Pakistan, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is carrying a substantial load of 811 containers of essential industrial materials such as soda ash, dolomite, and marble blocks, along with goods like garments raw materials, sugar, and electronic products, Dhaka Tribune and Daily Observer reported. 

The development came a day after Bangladesh's interim leader, Professor Muhammad Yunus, met Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Egypt's Cairo, where Dhaka and Islamabad "agreed to strengthen relations."

Concern For India

Quoting sources, the Economist Times reported that traders in Bangladesh are being forced to import goods from Pakistan. It also said that some officials in Bangladesh's shipping ministry are suggesting to review of the India-Bangladesh shipping pact, which gave India access to Chittagong and Mongla ports.

Chittagong Port is a strategically located docking site in the Bay of Bengal. Over the years, India has used its relationship with ousted premier Sheikh Hasina to keep an eye on the activities at Chittagong port, where in 2004, around 1,500 boxes of Chinese ammunition were confiscated. 

The consignment, worth an estimated USD 4.5-7 million, was allegedly masterminded by Pakistan's intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The consignment was allegedly meant to be delivered to banned terrorist outfit ULFA (United Liberation Front of Asom) in India.

New Delhi worries a resurgence of Islamist extremism in Bangladesh could target India and support insurgent groups in northeastern states. Adding to India's worries, Bangladesh, in September, removed the clause which required the port authorities to physically inspect cargo from Pakistan on arrival. This makes it easier for Pakistani vessels to use the maritime routes without the physical inspection of cargo. 

Earlier, the restrictive trade policy under Ms Hasina required cargo from Pakistan to be offloaded in Malaysia, Singapore, or Sri Lanka and then transferred to other vessels that carried them to Bangladesh. Indian officials kept a watchful eye on sea routes that connect Chittagong.

Bangladesh-Pakistan Ties

Muhammad Yunus, the 84-year-old Nobel laureate, who took over as leader of Bangladesh's interim administration in August, is a staunch opponent of Ms Hasina's policies, which were fundamentally pro-India and anti-Pakistan. Since he came to power, one of his areas of focus has been improving relations with Islamabad. 

A major development in this regard was to initiate direct maritime connectivity between the two previously hostile Muslim-majority nations, which were once one country. In November, Chinese cargo ship 'MV Yuan Xian Fa Zhong' from Karachi, arrived in Chittagong, marking the first-ever direct maritime contact between the two countries in over five decades-- since Bangladesh was formed in 1971.

Mr Yunus has also met the Pakistani Prime Minister twice since August. The latest meeting was in Egypt's Cairo on the sidelines of the D-8 summit. 

According to a statement from the office of the Chief Adviser, Mr Yunus stressed the importance of resolving the longstanding issues stemming from Dhaka's 1971 bloody separation from Islamabad. 

In response, Prime Minister Sharif called Bangladesh a "brotherly country" and expressed optimism on enhancing Islamabad and Dhaka ties and stressed the need for a strategic partnership.

Both leaders also "agreed to strengthen relations between the two countries through increased trade, commerce, and exchange of sports and cultural delegations", as per the statement from Yunus' office.