On Tuesday, Dhaka summoned Pakistan’s high commissioner to ‘explain the detention’ of Jahangir Hossain, a Bangladeshi diplomat who had been ‘missing’ for hours on Monday, creating panic at the Bangladeshi High Commission in Islamabad, and among officials back home.
Hossain had left his office to pick his daughter on Monday. He went ‘missing’ after leaving the High Commission in the Pakistani capital. His cell phone was switched off as well.
“Our High Commission immediately informed the Pakistan foreign ministry and law enforcement agencies about the matter and conveyed the incident to the foreign office in Dhaka,” a Bangladeshi Foreign Office spokesperson said. “Our High Commissioner in Islamabad briefly talked to Jahangir Hossain as he returned. We are trying to know the details of what actually happened to him.”
It was later discovered that he had been detained by Pakistani authorities for questioning over alleged espionage.
Hossain’s detention came after Pakistani High Commission official Abrar Ahmed Khan, was detained for “suspicious movement” in Bangladesh. Dhaka Metropolitan Police confirmed that Khan was handed over to the Pakistani High Commission after interrogation.
Khan had been accused of ‘spying’ just like his Fareena Arshad, the then Pakistani second secretary in Bangladesh, who was asked to leave Dhaka last month. Bangladeshi police alleged that an operative of outlawed Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh revealed that Arshad had links with the outfit.
“A disturbing pattern of harassment of its officers and officials, followed by a mud-slinging campaign and media trial,” the Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka said in a statement following Abrar Ahmed Khan’s arrest.
Former Pakistani Ambassador Mansoor Alam says the only way Islamabad can react is to ask for proof. “If they have proof then we need to handle things differently, otherwise it’s just allegations,” he says. “There should be some recorded conversations of the Pakistani diplomats with voice identification or images, or something along those lines.”
“I don’t know what the truth is about both sides’ allegations, but diplomats enjoy certain immunity that needs to be respected by both states,” Alam adds.
Before the Pakistani High Commission was summoned on Tuesday, the Bangladeshi war crimes tribunal sentenced two more men to death for ‘killing, kidnapping and looting’ in 1971. Obaidul Haque Taher and Ataur Rahman Noni were sent to the gallows by a three-member bench for killing seven people in Netrokona district on October 19, 1971.
The tribunal established by Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2010 has sentenced 21 people to death so far. Three leaders of the Bangladeshi Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) are among the four hanged so far.
Pak-Bangladesh ties soured after senior Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury and JI Secretary General Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid were executed in November. Federal Minister condemned the executions in the National Assembly, amidst uproar generated by Pakistan’s Jamaat-e-Islami.
Research Analyst Aamir Mughal says Chaudhry Nisar always ‘crosses the boundary’. “We need to realize that Pakistan is in the middle of a war on terror. There are many in JI that have been, and still are, supporting the militants,” he says.
Mughal says Pakistan’s ‘inappropriate’ reaction to Bangladesh’s internal matters has a lot to do with the fact that Islamabad does not have a full time foreign minister.
Former Senator and Chairman of Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Akram Zaki, claims India has been actively involved in damaging Bangladesh’s relations with Pakistan.
“Narendra Modi went to Bangladesh (in June 2015) and proudly said that India broke Pakistan. He owned up to the creation of Mukti Bahini. He basically told the Bangladeshis that they owe their creation to India. Since then Dhaka has been on a mission to damage relations with Islamabad,” Zaki said. “Modi’s policy is to weaken and isolate Pakistan. He then wanted to make Pakistan complacent by coming to Lahore. The Pathankot theatre was created to postpone Indo-Pak talks.”
Mughal firmly disagrees and says that Pakistan must self-reflect and own up to its past. “Former ISPR Chief Abdul Rehman Siddiqui – who was posted East Pakistan in 1971 – has been on record revealing Yahya Khan regime’s involvement in aggression against the locals,” Mughal says. “He’s mentioned it in his book. JI was given Rs 7.5 million in 1970 to commit crimes for which they are being charged.” Mughal says Pakistan must apologize for 1971.
Alam urges dialogue between Pakistan and Bangladesh to ‘heal past wounds’ “There obviously were some mistakes in 1971 and the Bangladeshis seemingly aren’t ready to forgive that. The only way to fix past wounds is through dialogue and engagement. Unsubstantiated allegations would aggravate the paranoia on both sides.”
Hossain had left his office to pick his daughter on Monday. He went ‘missing’ after leaving the High Commission in the Pakistani capital. His cell phone was switched off as well.
“Our High Commission immediately informed the Pakistan foreign ministry and law enforcement agencies about the matter and conveyed the incident to the foreign office in Dhaka,” a Bangladeshi Foreign Office spokesperson said. “Our High Commissioner in Islamabad briefly talked to Jahangir Hossain as he returned. We are trying to know the details of what actually happened to him.”
It was later discovered that he had been detained by Pakistani authorities for questioning over alleged espionage.
Hossain’s detention came after Pakistani High Commission official Abrar Ahmed Khan, was detained for “suspicious movement” in Bangladesh. Dhaka Metropolitan Police confirmed that Khan was handed over to the Pakistani High Commission after interrogation.
A Bangladeshi diplomat went 'missing' for hours
Khan had been accused of ‘spying’ just like his Fareena Arshad, the then Pakistani second secretary in Bangladesh, who was asked to leave Dhaka last month. Bangladeshi police alleged that an operative of outlawed Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh revealed that Arshad had links with the outfit.
“A disturbing pattern of harassment of its officers and officials, followed by a mud-slinging campaign and media trial,” the Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka said in a statement following Abrar Ahmed Khan’s arrest.
Former Pakistani Ambassador Mansoor Alam says the only way Islamabad can react is to ask for proof. “If they have proof then we need to handle things differently, otherwise it’s just allegations,” he says. “There should be some recorded conversations of the Pakistani diplomats with voice identification or images, or something along those lines.”
“I don’t know what the truth is about both sides’ allegations, but diplomats enjoy certain immunity that needs to be respected by both states,” Alam adds.
Before the Pakistani High Commission was summoned on Tuesday, the Bangladeshi war crimes tribunal sentenced two more men to death for ‘killing, kidnapping and looting’ in 1971. Obaidul Haque Taher and Ataur Rahman Noni were sent to the gallows by a three-member bench for killing seven people in Netrokona district on October 19, 1971.
The tribunal established by Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2010 has sentenced 21 people to death so far. Three leaders of the Bangladeshi Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) are among the four hanged so far.
Pak-Bangladesh ties soured after senior Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury and JI Secretary General Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid were executed in November. Federal Minister condemned the executions in the National Assembly, amidst uproar generated by Pakistan’s Jamaat-e-Islami.
Research Analyst Aamir Mughal says Chaudhry Nisar always ‘crosses the boundary’. “We need to realize that Pakistan is in the middle of a war on terror. There are many in JI that have been, and still are, supporting the militants,” he says.
Mughal says Pakistan’s ‘inappropriate’ reaction to Bangladesh’s internal matters has a lot to do with the fact that Islamabad does not have a full time foreign minister.
Former Senator and Chairman of Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Akram Zaki, claims India has been actively involved in damaging Bangladesh’s relations with Pakistan.
“Narendra Modi went to Bangladesh (in June 2015) and proudly said that India broke Pakistan. He owned up to the creation of Mukti Bahini. He basically told the Bangladeshis that they owe their creation to India. Since then Dhaka has been on a mission to damage relations with Islamabad,” Zaki said. “Modi’s policy is to weaken and isolate Pakistan. He then wanted to make Pakistan complacent by coming to Lahore. The Pathankot theatre was created to postpone Indo-Pak talks.”
Mughal firmly disagrees and says that Pakistan must self-reflect and own up to its past. “Former ISPR Chief Abdul Rehman Siddiqui – who was posted East Pakistan in 1971 – has been on record revealing Yahya Khan regime’s involvement in aggression against the locals,” Mughal says. “He’s mentioned it in his book. JI was given Rs 7.5 million in 1970 to commit crimes for which they are being charged.” Mughal says Pakistan must apologize for 1971.
Alam urges dialogue between Pakistan and Bangladesh to ‘heal past wounds’ “There obviously were some mistakes in 1971 and the Bangladeshis seemingly aren’t ready to forgive that. The only way to fix past wounds is through dialogue and engagement. Unsubstantiated allegations would aggravate the paranoia on both sides.”