Jaishankar attends Khaleda Zia’s funeral in Dhaka, meets Tarique Rahman, and expresses India’s condolences, signaling strengthened bilateral ties.
NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke on behalf of India at the funeral of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia in Dhaka. She assured her son and political heir Tarique Rahman that her vision will direct the growth of India-Bangladesh cooperation.
Jaishankar’s four-hour visit was the first by an Indian minister since relations between the two countries reached a record low after Muhammad Yunus’ temporary government was established in August 2024. In diplomatic circles, it was generally seen as a step by the Indian government to reach out to Khaleda’s leadership of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which is predicted to win the most votes in the February 12 election.
Jaishankar met Tarique Rahman, the BNP’s acting head, at the Parliament complex together with other visiting regional leaders. Rahman had just returned after 17 years of self-exile in Britain. On social media, Jaishankar claimed to have sent Rahman a private letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
expressed the Indian government’s and its citizens’ sincere sympathies. declared their belief that Begum Khaleda Zia’s principles and vision will direct the growth of our collaboration. Jaishankar remarked.
Riaz Hamidullah, Bangladesh’s high commissioner to India, who attended the meeting, posted on social media that Jaishankar expressed the Indian government’s and people’s sympathies for Khaleda’s passing and acknowledged her contribution to democracy. According to him, Jaishankar “expressed optimism to strengthen [Bangladesh-India] ties following democratic transition in Bangladesh [through] the upcoming election.”
In a social media post, Hamidullah added that the two nations “would look forward to script a new chapter in [Bangladesh-India] ties, in shared interests driven by pragmatism and mutual interdependence” and mentioned that Jaishankar and Rahman had a brief conversation about the matter.
When Jaishankar met with Khalilur Rahman, the national security adviser for Bangladesh, he was joined by senior BNP leaders, de facto law minister Asif Nazrul, Indian high commissioner Pranay Verma, and Rahman, who has been leading the party from overseas since his mother fell gravely ill a few years ago.
The Indian side of the meeting did not provide an official readout. Jaishankar did not meet with Yunus, in contrast to other regional leaders.
According to persons acquainted with the situation, Jaishankar and Ayaz Sadiq, the speaker of the Pakistan National Assembly, had a brief conversation while the regional leaders were in the same room at the Parliament complex. The brief encounter, which was the first time senior leaders of India and Pakistan have spoken since the two countries engaged in a four-day battle in May, was reportedly devoid of official conversations.
In reprisal for the April Pahalgam terror incident, India bombed Pakistani terrorist infrastructure on May 7. When military leaders from both sides agreed to suspend hostilities on May 10, the short-lived but fierce combat came to a conclusion.
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Additionally, Jaishankar spoke with Touhid Hossain, the de facto foreign minister of Bangladesh; Vijitha Herath, the foreign minister of Sri Lanka; Bala Nanda Sharma, the foreign minister of Nepal; DN Dhungyel, the foreign minister of Bhutan; and Ali Haidar Ahmed, the foreign minister of the Maldives.
The funeral prayers for Khaleda, a three-time prime minister who had a long-standing and acrimonious rivalry with former premier Sheikh Hasina, whose Awami League was overthrown in August 2024 following weeks of student-led protests, drew millions of people to Dhaka. Days after Rahman returned to Bangladesh, Khaleda passed away early on Tuesday in a hospital in Dhaka.
The Parliament building served as the venue for the funeral prayers, as mourners poured into the surrounding streets and roadways. Senior military and civilian officials joined the prayers, along with Yunus and temporary government ministries. Later, Khaleda was laid to rest next to her husband, Ziaur Rahman, a former military leader, with official honors.