Bangladesh and Pakistan have been estranged ‘brothers’ off and on since East Pakistan broke away with Indian support in 1971.

Although Pakistan recognised Bangladesh in 1974, paving the way for Bangladesh founder and then Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rehman to participate in the Islamic Summit that year in Lahore, we chose to brush the whole episode of 1971 under the carpet and forget about it.

The Hamoodur Rehman Commission Report to look into the whole affair was suppressed. Succeeding generations were not told that Bangladesh was once East Pakistan. This collective, contrived amnesia naturally meant we failed to learn any lessons from that tragic debacle.

It was expected that the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina Wajed would open the floodgates of rapprochement between Islamabad and Dhaka.

And so it has proved. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar’s visit to Bangladesh and meetings with Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus and Foreign Affairs Advisor Mohammad Touhid Hossain have yielded six instruments. These include an agreement to........

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