B’desh removes ‘barriers’ for Pakistani goods & nationals, rings alarm bells for subcontinent

New Delhi, Dec 7 (IANS) Bangladesh government under the leadership of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus is drawing global flak for failing miserably in stopping the genocide of Hindu minorities, reining in the Islamist forces and controlling the country’s consistent slide into the abyss. 

To make matters worse, the Yunus regime’s attempt at ‘cosying up’ with Pakistan has brought it under greater scrutiny and widespread denunciation.

Two of its policy reversals, announced recently, mark a significant departure from the past. First, the Yunus regime has instructed its Customs department to exclude Pakistani shipments from ‘physical inspection’ in the hope of enhancing trade ties. Secondly, it has relaxed its policy of mandatory security clearance for Pakistani citizens seeking visas.

Both the policies are fraught with risk and are prone to misuse by Pakistani terrorists, drug syndicates and mafia as this may serve as a ‘conduit’ to infiltrate into the troubled nation and then put the entire Southern region into peril.

Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, a noted Bangladesh journalist has raised strong concerns and apprehensions over Yunus govt's reworked trade ties with Pakistan and also over ‘rules relaxation’ for Pak nationals.

“By abruptly withdrawing mandatory security clearance for Pakistani nationals and exempting Pakistani cargo from customs inspections, the Yunus regime has created an open gateway for threats to infiltrate the subcontinent,” wrote the journalist in a local daily 'Blitz'.  

"The calculated removal of security and customs checks serves not only to embolden Pakistani networks but also to erode India’s regional dominance and global reputation," he wrote.

He has also gone ahead to make sensational and explosive charges at the US-Pakistan ‘nexus’ in bringing Bangladesh down, for their own interests.

Dropping a bombshell over Pak’s shipment of 30,000 kg sugar to crisis-hit Bangladesh, he said that narcotics and terrorists will be sneaked into the country which will yield another death blow to the already ‘failing’ country.

“A country which has no standing of its own is exporting sugar to Bangladesh. In the guise of sugar supply, it is sending a hidden consignment of cocaine amounting to 300 kg of narcotics in 30,000 kg sugar,” he said in an explosive charge.

He also launched an unsparing attack on the United States and its deep state for ‘conspiring’ to destroy Bangladesh in a planned manner.

“Behind Bangladesh’s plunge into anarchy and chaos, the US administration led by Joe Biden and its deep state is responsible. Biden government, the influential deep state including investors like George Soros have colluded with Pakistan to destabilize Bangladesh,” he underlined.

“The special privilege being meted out to Pakistani nationals as well as Pakistani produce in our country should be seen in this context. There is a well-coordinated approach to mislead and derail the Bangladeshi youth with drug supply, in a bid to keep the country in prolonged crisis,” he added.

He said that as a Bangladeshi national, he is extremely worried about the country's downfall and also expressed fears about impending sanctions on his country after the Trump administration takes charge in the US.

“I sincerely believe that the new US government would act harshly on extremist regimes and Bangladesh may be one of them. I fear punitive tariffs, travel bans and sanctions on certain individuals,” he said.

Notably, the relaxation in ‘trade and human’ ties between Pakistan and Bangladesh comes at a time when the former itself is battling with rising extremism and radicalism. Many Muslim nations including UAE and Kuwait continue to maintain strict visa restrictions for Pakistani nationals, citing security concerns.

--IANS

mr/dan