Bangladesh and Pakistan have expressed their commitment to work together to combat drugs and terrorism.
The commitment was made during a courtesy call by Pakistani home minister, Asian Cricket Council president and Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Raza Naqvi on home affairs adviser Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury at his office in Dhaka.
The meeting discussed various issues of mutual interest, including combating drugs and terrorism, mutual cooperation between the police academies of the two countries in police training, on-arrival visas for diplomatic and official passport holders, the Rohingya issue, combating cybercrime and increasing trade and commerce.
Welcoming the Pakistani home minister, Jahangir Alam said that Bangladesh and Pakistan shared a common history and tradition.
鈥楾he friendly relations between the two countries are growing stronger day by day,鈥� he said.
At the same time, the Pakistani home minister expressed his commitment to increasing all-round cooperation between the two countries in various fields.
The memorandum of understanding on on-arrival visas for diplomatic and official passport holders of the two countries is almost at its final stage, said Mohsin Raza Naqvi.
The construction of the Bangladesh embassy building in Pakistan is underway.
The MRP passport issuance process is currently ongoing there. Once the construction of the embassy building is completed, the e-passport issuance process will begin in Pakistan.
Stating that they are working to establish peace around the world by combating terrorism, Mohsin Raza said, 鈥業f we fail there, it will pose a threat to everyone, including Pakistan. That is why we seek everyone鈥檚 cooperation.鈥櫬�
In this regard, Bangladesh can utilise Pakistan鈥檚 experience in combating terrorism, he opined.
Mohsin Raza Naqvi said, 鈥楶akistan鈥檚 second major problem is drugs, which are smuggled in from neighbouring Afghanistan.鈥�
At this point, Jahangir Alam mentioned, 鈥極ne of the main problems of Bangladesh is drugs, which are usually smuggled in from neighbouring Myanmar.鈥�
The adviser said that the two countries could use mutual experience to eliminate the drug menace.
Emphasising that the two countries can cooperate in police training, the Pakistani home minister said that a memorandum of understanding could be signed between the police academies of the two countries in this regard.
Agreeing to this, the home affairs adviser said that the Bangladesh Police Academy in Sardah was one of the oldest police training institutes in the Indian subcontinent.
On the Rohingya issue, the Pakistani home minister said that they were not granting them citizenship. 鈥榃e are giving them passports with a different code or serial number so that they can be identified as Rohingya.鈥�
Mentioning that Bangladesh has sheltered 1.3 million Rohingya refugees for humanitarian reasons, which has now become a burden for a developing country like Bangladesh, the adviser sought Pakistan鈥檚 cooperation in the repatriation of the Rohingyas.
During the meeting, the Pakistani home minister invited the home affairs adviser to visit Pakistan.
He also expressed grief and condolences on behalf of the Pakistani government over the loss of lives in the Uttara aircraft crash.
Earlier, the home ministry presented a guard of honour to the Pakistani minister.
