The deadly massacre of tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir erupted a fresh crisis between Pakistan and India, the two nuke-armed neighbors. The sectarian terrorists or Islamic jihadists deliberately targeted the Hindus only

India has accused Pakistan of supporting cross-border terrorism after the murderers carried out the most evil attack on civilians in contested Muslim-majority Kashmir

However, amid an escalation of tension between India and Pakistan, the regional tension has spilt over to Bangladesh

Hours after the barbaric atrocities in Kashmir, Pakistans Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, postponed his scheduled visit to Bangladesh on April 27-28

However, the official statement says that fresh dates will be announced through mutual consultations

Bangladesh officials said the first-ever visit of the Pakistani Foreign Minister in 25 years would have heightened the weak bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Pakistan

A few more official delegations were supposed to visit each others capitals for the augmentation of trade, commerce, industries, investment, communication, agriculture, foreign affairs, home affairs and others

It seems that such parleys would be delayed as the crisis has shaken the government of Pakistan after the worst carnage since the Pulwama attack in 2019

The fights would not commence unless the overflights over India are withdrawn, said the official

The reason is that the skies for overflights of Pakistan airlines to most South Asian east-bound destinations have been grounded for months to come

The Pakistani fight for Indian capital and the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, has been stalled

In an arbitrary decision by jealous bigwigs in Islamabad and New Delhi, scores of Indian airlines' flights over Pakistan have been shut, and rerouting the flight paths is causing immense suffering for the passengers who were booked mostly for westbound destinations

Meanwhile, over 1,000 Bangladeshi immigrants, including women and children, were detained in a crackdown in Indias Gujarat days after the most horrible mass execution of civilians in recent times

Efforts for the detained Bangladesh nationals in Gujarat are underway for their deportation, Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi told Indian media

The minister, without a proper investigation, jumped to the conclusion that most of these people are involved with drug cartels and human trafficking, and two out of the four Bangladeshis arrested recently worked in sleeper cells of Al Qaeda. A probe will be conducted into these Bangladeshis background and activities in Gujarat, the junior minister stated

Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain, briefing journalists at the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the ongoing tensions between the two rival neighbors, India and Pakistan, should be resolved through dialogue

Our position is very clear. We want peace in South Asia. We are aware of the longstanding rivalry between Pakistan and India. We would expect the two countries would resolve the problem through dialogue, he said

He reiterated that We [Bangladesh] have good relations with both India and Pakistan.

First published in theStratheia Policy Journal, Islamabad, Pakistan on 29 April 2025

Saleem Samad