- Not possible for Nepal, Bhutan to join group sans India: Hossain.
- Bangladesh adviser quotes DPM Dar saying “progress was possible”.
- Islamabad-Dhaka relations improving since ouster of ex-PM Hasina.
Hinting at a move that could affect the region’s geopolitics, Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain has said that it is possible for Bangladesh to be part of a regional grouping with Pakistan excluding India.
“It is possible for us [Bangladesh] strategically … [but] it is not possible for Nepal or Bhutan to form a grouping with Pakistan excluding India,” reported state-owned news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), quoting Hossain while responding to a question.
The Bangladesh adviser’s remarks come against the backdrop of improving relations between Islamabad and Dhaka, following the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in the aftermath of student-led protests last year, and she has since been residing in India.
Relations between India and Bangladesh’s new government have been frosty since then, allowing Islamabad and Dhaka to slowly rebuild ties.
Last year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Bangladesh’s Yunus on the sidelines of the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly in September.
Meanwhile, Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar also met the Bangladesh’s chief adviser in August 2025 during an official visit aiming to to strengthen regional and bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
The two countries have also agreed in principle to grant visa-free entry to holders of diplomatic and official passports.
Expanding on DPM Dar’s remarks at “Islamabad Conclave”, where he said that a trilateral initiative involving Pakistan, Bangladesh and China had commenced, Hossain said quoted the Pakistani FM saying that “at some point this could see some progress”.
The adviser, however, exercised restraint on further commenting on the matter, highlighting that he only knew that via media.
