Bangladesh’s growing closeness with Pakistan: Implications for India (IANS Analysis)

IANS | February 2, 2025 8:53 PM

New Delhi, Feb 2 (IANS) The recent visit of four high-ranking ISI officials, including Director General of Analysis Maj Gen Shahid Amin Afsar, to Dhaka on January 21 marks a significant shift in Bangladesh-Pakistan relations. The two nations, historically estranged since the brutal 1971 Liberation War—wherein Pakistani forces are accused of massacring nearly three million people and violating 2,00,000 Bengali women—are now demonstrating signs of rapprochement. The evolving diplomatic landscape comes in the wake of Bangladesh's political turmoil, following the abrupt removal of Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, triggered by a student-led mass uprising. Her ousting has upended regional power equations, particularly unsettling India, which had long maintained a strong strategic partnership with Hasina’s government. The burgeoning Pakistan-Bangladesh engagement now presents a challenge to India’s regional influence.

Israel PM Netanyahu welcomes home released hostages

IANS | January 31, 2025 6:34 AM

Jerusalem, January 31 (IANS) Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has issued a statement welcoming home the three Israelis who were released on Thursday from captivity in Gaza -- Agam Berger, Arbel Yehud and Gadi Moses.