Bangladesh's Yunus huddles with Pakistan in futile promotion of SAARC

Dhaka: Muhammad Yunus, head of the interim government in Bangladesh, is making desperate attempts to revive the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) - a regional grouping which has remained stagnant for over one decade due to Pakistan's promotion of cross-border terrorism and its persistent obstruction of several development initiatives.

During his ongoing visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, Yunus raised the issue of stalled SAARC summits since the 2014 edition in Kathmandu. Only a few weeks ago, Yunus had spoken about renewing and reviving the SAARC during his discussion with the visiting Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Ishaq Dar in Dhaka on August 24.

In the absence of democracy, the rickety and illegitimate interim administration in Bangladesh is working hard to divert public attention by talking Pakistan's language of revival of SAARC.

SAARC was founded in Dhaka on December 8, 1985 with the noble aim of fostering economic and social development, cultural exchange and regional stability among eight South Asian member nations of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

New Delhi strongly hoped for the SAARC to take a lead in the region, but Pakistan's continuous sponsoring of terrorism made the organisation completely incapable and incompetent. India maintains that SAARC remains a non-starter because of Pakistan.

Pakistan's anti-India activities always obstructed the forward movement of SAARC. Even now, Rawalpindi continues to promote terror activities in the region.

In 2016, with the stagnation of SAARC following the Uri terror attack began the rise of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).

Established on June 6, 1997 the regional organisation united seven member countries in South and Southeast Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka from South Asia and Myanmar and Thailand from Southeast Asia. It connects the two regions, focuses on economic and technical cooperation among its members and offers ways to foster regional cooperation by Outmanoeuvering complications posed by Pakistan.

In India's strategic and foreign policy calculus, BIMSTEC focuses on enhanced connectivity, economic integration, and human security.

"BIMSTEC not only connects South and Southeast Asia, but also the ecologies of the Great Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal. With shared values, histories, ways of life, and destinies that are interlinked, BIMSTEC represents a common space for peace and development. For India, it is a natural platform to fulfil our key foreign policy priorities of Neighbourhood First and Act East," Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated on the 20th anniversary of establishment of BIMSTEC in June 2017.

Significantly, India's commitment through BIMSTEC has grown in taking decisive action to counter China's strategic outreach in the region.

Unlike SAARC that has its own problems, India sees BIMSTEC as having new energy and possibilities. With Pakistan not being part of BIMSTEC, India has renewed its age-old linkages with the countries of Southeast Asia and East Asia through the Shipping Lanes of Communication (SLOCS). India is not only the net-security provider for the Indian Ocean but also has an interest in the entire Indo-Pacific because of its increasing demand for trade and economic growth.

At the same time, India is closely following the growing Bangladesh-Pakistan bonhomie with radical Islamists binding Islamabad and Dhaka under Yunus like never before.

In light of the worsening situation on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, Pakistan has strengthened its diplomatic and military activities in Bangladesh. India needs to ensure that Bangladesh, being a member country of BIMSTEC, becomes a major partner in the Act East policy and not a fundamentalist Islamic state.

After former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's exit, Yunus' Bangladesh is witnessing a massive economic slowdown, including persistent inflation, steep decline in foreign exchange reserves, decreasing remittances, and political instability that discourages investment. Health impacts are also stark. The World Bank has observed Bangladesh's Real GDP growth is projected to further moderate to 3.3 per cent in FY-25 due to declining private and public investment. Political uncertainty and rising costs associated with borrowing and inputs are expected to constrain private investment growth and keep industrial growth subdued.

At this moment, the unelected, unaccountable Yunus interim administration, a puppet of the US and West, has hardened into a totalitarian regime of brutality. It is silencing academia, torturing women leaders, manipulating justice system even as the number of custodial deaths, politically-orchestrated mob lynchings and religious persecution targetting Hindu minorities continue to increase.

(The writer is an expert on South Asia and Eurasia. He was formerly with Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. Views expressed are personal)

--IANS

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