The comments came after reports emerged from
India blaming the Pakistan intelligence agencies for their involvement in
the collapse of Bangladesh’s government.
The Bangladeshi military initially took over the
country after a student-led protest forced the country’s Hasina to flee. Later,
an interim government was formed with Bangladesh’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning
economist Muhammad Yunus sworn in as its head.
Reacting to the Indian media reports, FO spokesperson Mumtaz
Zahra Baloch, during a weekly press briefing in Islamabad today, rejected all
such statements, stressing that Pakistan had no involvement in the events that
took place in Bangladesh.
“These statements depict India’s disturbing obsession with
Pakistan,” Baloch said in response to a question.
She said that Indian political ledgers and their media
habitually blamed Pakistan for their failures in domestic and foreign policy.
The spokesperson added that Pakistan and Bangladesh had
positive relations which had only continued to grow.
“The government and people of Pakistan have expressed their
support and solidarity with the people of Bangladesh and we sincerely hope for
a peaceful and swift return to normalcy,” said Baloch.
She went on to say that Pakistan was confident that the
resilient spirit and unity of the Bangladeshi people would lead them towards a
harmonious future.
The student-led movement that ousted Hasina grew out of
protests against quotas in government jobs that spiraled in July,
provoking a violent crackdown that drew global criticism, although the
government denied using excessive force.
Hasina, 76, who had been in power since 2009, quit on Monday
as hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets of Dhaka. Jubilant
crowds later stormed and looted her palace.
Monday’s events were the culmination of more than a month of
unrest, which began as protests against a plan for quotas in government jobs
but morphed into an anti-Hasina movement.
Hasina, who was accused of rigging the January
elections and widespread human rights abuses, deployed security forces to quash
the protests.
At least 455 people were killed in the unrest,
according to an AFP tally based on police, government officials, and
hospital doctors.
