New Delhi: Following hours of silence and mounting criticism on social media, Bangladesh on Wednesday condemned the terrorist attack in Jammu Kashmir’s Pahalgam that left 26 people dead and several others injured.
Interim Bangladesh government’s Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus issued a statement this evening, offering condolences to the victims’ families and the Indian government.
“Please accept my deepest condolences over the losses of life resulting from the terrorist attack that took place in Kashmir’s Pahalgam,” he wrote in a post on his official Facebook page. “We strongly condemn this heinous act. Let me reaffirm Bangladesh’s resolute stand against terrorism.”
His message came as Dhaka faced growing scrutiny for not speaking out against the incident. The attack drew immediate condemnation from other regional capitals.
Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs later released its own statement, calling the attack a “mindless act of violence” and reaffirming the country’s “unwavering commitment to the global fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations”.
However, a social media post from a page associated with Asif Nazrul, Bangladesh’s Adviser for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, complicated the matter. While condemning the killings, the post cast doubt on the Indian security establishment’s version of the incident, stating, “We need to know who is truly behind this.”
This comes against a backdrop of diplomatic strain between New Delhi and Dhaka since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, with both sides trading charges over the treatment of religious minorities.
The Bangladeshi media coverage of the dastardly attack, meanwhile, has been limited, with most outlets relying on Indian or international reports. Some local channels, such as BanglaVision, have aired provocative commentary, wondering if India is now “reaping what it sowed” in Kashmir.
According to reports, last week Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch raised the Kashmir issue during the Pakistan-Bangladesh Foreign Office Consultation in Dhaka, in the first FOC meeting in 15 years.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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