The following is from Dawn . Gives insight to some of the regional political dynamics.
Accent on better regional cooperation By Maqbool Ahmad Bhatty The focus in local think tanks was on Pakistan-Bangladesh relations in the last week of October as a group of academics from Bangladesh visited Pakistan. Along with an analysis of the regional scenario, which has been affected by the post 9/11 global trends, the discussions naturally took up the prospects for relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh. This has been a significant year for this relationship in many ways. Perhaps the most important single development was the regret expressed by President Pervez Musharraf during his July visit to Bangladesh for the excesses by the Pakistan armed forces during their crackdown in 1971. This was a spontaneous and sincere initiative to remove the lingering resentments that had continued to cast a shadow on bilateral relations. The president had also won appreciation for his announcement that Pakistan would allow tariff-free imports of major Bangladeshi staples of tea and jute, a gesture that took cognizance of the imbalance in bilateral trade. The 9/11 attacks on the US have resulted in a campaign directed against the Islamic world with forces of Zionism and conservative Christianity in the US fuelling a sustained drive to browbeat and subjugate the Muslim world. The identification of the "axis of evil" by Bush and the resolve to attack Iraq, with Iran as a likely target to follow, disguise the twin objectives of establishing US-Zionist hegemony in the Islamic heartland on the basis of sheer military power and of bringing the oil resources of the region under Washington's control. As India has forged links with Israel and proceeded to practise the same type of excesses against the Muslims in India as Sharon been perpetrating against the hapless Palestinians, both Bangladeshi intellectuals and popular sentiment have taken note of the implications. Islamic awareness runs deep among the Bengali Muslims. There is genuine support there for the Kashmir cause, and the outrages being committed against Indian Muslims in Gujarat and other states are strongly resented. The Bangladeshis also sense that India has no real enthusiasm about the SAARC concept, which they take seriously as a vehicle for regional cooperation. The desirability of closer links among the smaller countries of South Asia, both for economic reasons and to counter Indian hegemonic ambitions, is also recognized. These factors figured in the discussions on various aspects of bilateral relations, as well as of the role they could play in the multilateral sphere. Given the fallout of the war against terrorism, the US has launched, which is impacting Asia in particular, security came in for consideration in several contexts. There is the traditional aspect, with the US military presence in the Indian Ocean region, and the decision by India to join the US in patrolling the sea lanes from the Gulf to the Malacca Straits. An additional element is the expanding Indian missile capability that, taken with its nuclear programme, gives it a reach that is expanding beyond South Asia to Europe and the Pacific. Indian goals extend beyond hegemony in South Asia to a world role, and its nexus with Israel specifically threatens the Muslim world. So far as the immediate interests of Bangladesh and Pakistan are concerned, both are affected by the deteriorating security environment in South Asia with extremists on the rampage within India, and India playing the terrorist card to suppress Muslims internally and in Kashmir. Taking security in the larger context, there is need for economic security in a region containing the largest concentration of poverty in the world. Whereas the South Asian countries should be focusing on sustained development, they are held back by continuing conflict. India has chosen to employ its military muscle, notably in Kashmir, but Bangladesh has been pleading for a resumption of dialogue. The persistence of political tensions between India and most of its neighbours has obstructed the realization of the full potential of SAARC for inter-state cooperation for collective progress. On security and political issues, both Bangladesh and Pakistan agree that the role India is carving out for itself is helpful for stability nor does it contribute to an environment conducive to economic development, which is the real need of the region. Indian naval capability has been expanded, and it has set up a Far Eastern Command, participating in naval exercises with Vietnam in the South China Sea. Pakistan has been pressing for the resumption of a dialogue over Kashmir, but India finds it more advantageous to keep the pot boiling through its own repressive policies while blaming Pakistan for continued support to "cross-border terrorism". Both Pakistan and Bangladesh agree on the need for more substantive measures to revive SAARC, whose next summit is due to be hosted by Pakistan next January. Dhaka and Islamabad would like to jointly counter Indian moves to minimize SAARC's role by exploiting the issue of terrorism, to suppress the popular movement in Kashmir and to malign Pakistan. Bangladesh has also been bracketed as a fundamentalist Muslim country, whereas, in the words of a senior retired Bangladeshi defence official, it is India which has turned "non-secular". There was appreciation of cooperation between Pakistan and Bangladesh in the area of security, with their armed forces sharing military training facilities and equipment transfers. If India continued to build up its offensive capability and use its military strength for political pressure, their cooperation can be further expanded. Bangladesh shares the view that informal discussion of political differences should be included in the scope of SAARC activities. Other, more successful regional organizations such as the European Union and ASEAN have created a security environment which facilitates economic integration. With their strategic vision converging, Pakistan and Bangladesh are looking for practical ways to take concrete measures that would strengthen their political and economic ties. The obvious needs are increased economic cooperation and trade that contribute to their development and help overcome poverty and backwardness. Though there are some problems left over from their shared past such as those of stranded Pakistanis who want to be given the right to return, and both have claims and counter-claims regarding assets, these are not major irritants. There is a mutual desire to concentrate on the positive factors, and to step up efforts that would build on the fund of goodwill and friendship existing between the two countries. There is realization on both sides that the full potential of economic cooperation has not been achieved. For instance, the total trade between them has averaged 100 to 150 million dollars annually in recent years. Not only is this level relatively low but is also characterized by an adverse balance, Bangladeshi exports being about 25 per cent of the imports from Pakistan. Last year, Pakistan's exports totalled $133 million, while imports from Bangladesh were $35 million. Though the measures announced during the visit of the Pakistan president would help correct this imbalance, difference, concerted efforts are needed to increase economic interaction. The joint ministerial commission is due to have its eighth meeting in Dhaka and should carry this process forward. Though India made much of the concessions it made to Bangladesh in settling the Farraka dispute, Bangladesh continues to face Indian pressures over water-sharing, territorial issues and transit rights. Quite a few territorial disputes that should have been settled remain pending, as the Indian parliament is reluctant to ratify accords worked out at the expert level decades ago. India's desire to play the role of the regional policeman remains unwelcome to both countries, which also resent India's generally negative stance over the activation of SAARC. An association like SAARC provides a framework for cooperation over a wide range of areas, including social development and countering drugs, smuggling and terrorism. Pakistan would like to support the efforts of Bangladesh to turn it into a catalyst of regional harmony and cooperation. The two sides are concerned about the challenges that would confront the poorer countries after the coming into force of the World Trade Organization charters in two years. They agree that they, together with other developing countries, have to work together to safeguard their interests and need to improve bilateral and multilateral cooperation between them. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Web Hosting - Let the expert host your site http://webhosting.yahoo.com
