Bangladesh's foreign affairs adviser Towhid Hossain has said that Bangladesh-India relations should not be government-centric. He believes that whichever government is in power in India and Bangladesh should not affect the relations between the two countries.
In an interview with Indian media outlet The Hindu, he spoke about various aspects of bilateral relations. These include attacks on minorities, Sheikh Hasina's statement from India, killings on the border and mistreatment of fishermen, as well as the Adani power project.
The media outlet reported this in a report on Tuesday (February 18).
Earlier, Foreign Affairs Adviser Towhid Hossain met Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday on the sidelines of the 8th Indian Ocean Summit in Muscat, the capital of Oman. He gave an interview to The Hindu the next day.
Speaking about the recent state of Bangladesh-India relations in an interview, the foreign affairs adviser said, “India was used to such a relationship for more than 15 years and suddenly it collapsed very quickly. Maybe it took some time to adjust to the new reality; there was definitely hostility and discomfort about it. But I think after six months, it should actually end and we need an environment where we can work with each other. Compared to six months ago, we can definitely communicate with each other better now.”
When asked if he had asked Jaishankar about the concerns India had expressed about the situation in Bangladesh during the Trump-Modi meeting in Washington, Towhid said, “Not really. I didn’t ask because it is an Indian matter. I don’t think there should be too much concern. Our bilateral relations should be normal, which is already happening in some areas. For example, in trade. There was some problem in trade for a short time, but it has increased again.’
Regarding the allegations of violence against minorities, especially the Hindu community, the adviser said, ‘Hindus or other minority communities living in Bangladesh are equal citizens like Muslims or the majority community. They are citizens entitled to equal rights and the same protection. And it is the job of the Bangladesh government, they are doing it, to protect them (minorities) like any other citizen of the country.’
When asked about India’s position on former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the foreign adviser said, ‘There is a case against her (Hasina) and we have asked India to send her to face trial. Until the Indian government does this, we would hope that they can at least impose some restrictions on her so that she cannot make provocative and false statements that incite anger among the people, because the issues are still very fresh.’
Regarding security on the Bangladesh-India border, Towhid said, ‘In 2024, 24 people were shot at on the border. This is not done anywhere in the world. India often says that since there is crime, it is happening. There is crime on every border in the world. People are not shot dead like this anywhere.’
Regarding the power deal with Adani, he said, ‘The terms of the deal can be re-evaluated. If both sides agree, then it is possible to reconsider the matter logically.’
When asked about the allegations of mistreatment of Indian fishermen detained in Bangladesh, Towhid said, ‘We have already requested for an investigation, and if we find that someone from our security forces was involved, or they broke the law, then of course we will consider it.’
Questioning whether there is a possibility of a meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chief Adviser Professor Dr. Yunus, the foreign adviser said, so far the two leaders have not been in one place on the same day, so there has been no opportunity for them to meet. But I personally believe that both sides are willing to meet and have an interest in discussing openly and openly. But there is no consensus on the meeting. It has not reached that stage yet. Once the program is finalized and completed, we will decide these matters a few days in advance. Let's see what happens.