PAKISTAN-BANGLADESH RELATIONS REMAIN IN DEEP FREEZE

S E C R E T DHAKA 000829 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/23/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL BG SUBJECT: PAKISTAN-BANGLADESH RELATIONS REMAIN IN DEEP FREEZE Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty. Reason 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Outgoing Pakistan High Commissioner Alamgir Bashar Khan Babar told the Ambassador August 20 he was disappointed that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had not responded to an overture from Pakistan to overcome the bitter legacy of the 1971 Liberation War. Babar said that he had delivered two months earlier to the Prime Minister the Government of Pakistan's offer to do whatever it could - "within reason" - to overcome the deep rift which had characterized Bangladesh-Pakistan relations since the 1971 conflict. The GOB had, however, provided no response to the Pakistani offer. Alamgir regretted that Pakistan and Bangladesh had missed an opportunity to set bilateral relations on a new path, casting a sour note on his tenure as Pakistani envoy and upcoming departure from Dhaka. Comment -------------- ¶2. (S) Dhaka's refusal to respond to Islamabad's icebreaker reflects the deep distrust of Pakistan that permeates Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League government. The PM's rebuff reflects the belief among many Awami Leaguers that Pakistan's intelligence services have provided support to a number of terrorist groups active inside Bangladesh. Just as important, the Awami League leadership believes that the GOP has provided moral and financial support to the party's bitter political rivals, the Bangladesh National Party (BNP). That said, poor Bangladesh-Pakistan relations represent a significant ongoing obstacle to effective U.S. counter-terrorism cooperation in South Asia and beyond. MORIARTY