ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday congratulated Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus on taking charge of Bangladesh’s caretaker government, saying he hoped to work with the new leader to “deepen cooperation” between the two South Asian nations.
Yunus took the reins of government on Thursday after weeks of violence that forced Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to quit and flee to neighboring India.
Pakistan and Bangladesh share a complex history, having been a single country known as East and West Pakistan until Bangladesh was born in 1971 after a war of liberation backed by Pakistan’s arch-rival and neighbor India. Nearly three million people were killed in the conflict.
Ties reached a new low in 2016 when Bangladesh executed several leaders of its Jamaat-e-Islami party on charges of committing war crimes in 1971. Pakistan called the executions and trials “politically motivated,” arguing that the convicts were being punished for taking a pro-Pakistan stance during the war.
“Heartiest felicitations to Professor Muhammad Yunus on his swearing-in as Chief Adviser of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Wishing him great success in guiding Bangladesh toward a harmonious and prosperous future,” Prime Minister Sharif said on X.
“I look forward to working with him to deepen cooperation between Pakistan and Bangladesh in the days ahead.”
Known as the “banker to the poor,” Yunus is the pioneer of the global microcredit movement. The Grameen Bank he founded won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for helping lift millions from poverty by providing tiny loans to the rural poor who are too impoverished to gain attention from traditional banks.
As chief adviser of the caretaker government, he is, however, tasked with bringing stability back to the country which witnessed some of its worst violence in decades, and then hold fresh parliamentary elections.
“The brutal, autocratic regime is gone,” Yunus said in a televised address to the nation after taking charge on Thursday. “Tomorrow, with the rising sun, democracy, justice, human rights, and full freedom of fearless expression will be enjoyed by all, regardless of party affiliation. That is our goal.”
Hasina’s flight from the country after weeks of deadly protests triggered jubilation and violence as crowds stormed and ransacked her official residence. Over 300 people were killed in clashes from July up until Hasina’s ouster. She had ruled for 20 of the last 30 years after winning a fourth term in January.
With inputs from Reuters
