India's blunt message to Bangladesh: Don't normalise terrorism

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had categorically told Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Advisor Tauheed Hussain that Dhaka should not allow terrorism to become normal. The Ministry of External Affairs revealed this on Friday. The two leaders met in Muscat earlier this week. After the meeting, Jaishankar said that the talks with the Foreign Affairs Advisor of the interim government in Bangladesh focused on bilateral relations and BIMSTEC. The Bangladeshi side said Hussain highlighted the importance of holding the SAARC Standing Committee meeting and urged the Indian government to consider the matter.

Let us tell you that the Foreign Minister had several meetings with his counterparts from neighboring countries, including Bangladesh, during the Indian Ocean Conference in Muscat on February 16. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "Regarding whether SAARC was discussed or not... Yes, this matter was raised by Bangladesh when the Foreign Minister met Dhaka's foreign advisor in Muscat. It was acknowledged that everyone in South Asia knows which country and which activities are responsible for disrupting SAARC. The Foreign Minister said that it is important for Bangladesh not to normalize terrorism."

Regarding the Muscat meeting, Bangladeshi media claimed that during the discussion, a possible meeting between Professor Yunus and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also discussed.

According to Bangladeshi media, the topic of holding a meeting between Chief Advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the BIMSTEC summit to be held in Bangkok in April also came up during the talks. The sixth summit of the 'Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation' (BIMSTEC) is scheduled to be held in Bangkok, Thailand on April 2-4 later this year.

Let us tell you that Bangladesh will take over as the next chairman of BIMSTEC at the summit. Before Muscat, Foreign Minister Jaishankar and Hussain last met in September during the United Nations General Assembly in New York. This meeting was the first high-level conversation between India and the interim government of Bangladesh after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stepped down in August 2024