The meeting in Dhaka between EAM S Jaishankar and Pakistan National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq was no more than a courtesy call in view of the chill in relations between the two neighbouring countries. Even the MEA and the minister himself did not post on social media about the brief meeting.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar meets Pakistan's National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq in Dhaka (Photo: X/@ChiefAdviserGoB)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who was in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka on Wednesday to attend the funeral of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, had a brief meeting with Pakistan National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq. The two met ahead of Zia’s funeral.
A picture of the meeting was shared on X by Bangladesh’s Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus. “Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan, exchanges greetings with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Dhaka on Wednesday ahead of the funeral programme of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia,” Yunus’s account posted on X.
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The meeting between Jaishankar and Sadiq was no more than a courtesy call in view of the chill in relations between the two neighbouring countries. Even the Ministry of External Affairs and the minister himself did not post on social media about the brief meeting.
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However, Pakistan tried to use the handshake to amplify its fake agenda and said it favours dialogue and restraint in order to avoid aggression and escalation.
It may be noted that since the Pahalgam terror attack of April last year, in which 26 people were killed in Jammu and Kashmir, India and Pakistan have had very few visible high-level contacts. In fact, India’s military action against Pakistan in view of the attack, dubbed Operation Sindoor, saw the relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbours reach their historic low.
Congress attacks Jaishankar over meeting with Pakistani Speaker in Dhaka
However, Pakistan’s National Assembly Secretariat issued a press release to milk the Jaishankar-Sadiq handshake to further its agenda.
The Secretariat claimed it was Indian minister Jaishankar who approached Ayaz Sadiq during the event, as per a report in Dawn newspaper.
The press release further stated, as per news agency ANI, that since the Pahalgam attack, Pakistan has “consistently emphasised dialogue, restraint and cooperative measures, including proposals for peace talks and joint investigations…to prevent unprovoked aggression and escalation.”
India has long held an official position that terror and talks cannot go together and that Pakistan has to stop sponsoring terrorism in India in the name of the Kashmir issue before any meaningful relations can be restored between the two countries. In fact, following Operation Sindoor, India has amended its policy further to categorically state that any terror attack carried out by Pakistan on Indian soil would trigger a military reaction, as seen during the Pahalgam episode.
India’s response to Pahalgam was multi-pronged, with diplomatic and policy measures complementing military action to teach Pakistan a lesson.
Following the attack, India had scaled down diplomatic engagement and suspended the landmark Indus Waters Treaty as well as cross-border trade to choke Pakistan.
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