Washington/New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that Bangladesh was discussed during his bilateral talks with the new US National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Answering questions at a press conference in Washington on his talks with the new Trump administration officials, he said:
“We had a brief discussion on Bangladesh. It is not appropriate that I get into more details.”
To a question on the stoppage of trade with Pakistan and the drugs being sent to India from across the border, he said, speaking in Hindi: “On the trade with Pakistan. We did not stop the trade, they took the decision in 2019. And our feeling was that we should get MFN status; we had given it to them but they did not give it to us. There has been no initiative from that side so far in the past year (on reviving trade ties).
“And the drugs come from there; it is a well known fact,” he said.
On the July 2023 arson attack on the Indian consulate in San Francisco by Khalistani extremists, he said: “I do want to say that the arson attack on the San Francisco consulate is a very serious matter, and we expect accountability, and want to see that those responsible are held accountable.”
Bilateral ties between India and Bangladesh have seen a downward spiral ever since the August 5 dismissal of the Sheikh Hasina government and the installation of the army-backed interim government led by Chief Advisor Mohd Yunus. The rising attacks on Hindus, and other minorities in Bangladesh and destruction of their properties and places of worship has been time and again raised by India.
In December, the Coalition of Bangladeshi American Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians called on President-elect Donald Trump to step in and assist in safeguarding minority communities in Bangladesh, terming the ongoing atrocities against religious and ethnic minorities there an “existential threat” from Islamist forces.
They also urged Trump to secure the immediate release of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das, and said Bangladesh risks descending into radicalisation, which could have far-reaching effects not only for South Asia but for the rest of the world.
In November, the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS) expressed grave concern over the escalating human rights violations against religious minorities in Bangladesh and the arrest of Hindu spiritual leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari.
Bangladesh’s minority Hindus have faced over 200 attacks, including those on their temples, since the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, according to the FIIDS.
