Pakistan has postponed its deputy prime minister and foreign minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar鈥檚 visit to Bangladesh scheduled for April 27-28 amid escalating tension between Islamabad and New Delhi over a recent聽 deadly attack in India-administered Kashmir.
Islamabad on Thursday conveyed the decision to Dhaka in a diplomatic communication citing 鈥榰nforeseen circumstances鈥� as the reason, officials in Dhaka confirmed.聽
鈥極wing to unforeseen circumstances, the honourable deputy prime minister and minister for foreign affairs of Pakistan is unable to undertake the visit to Bangladesh on 27-28 April聽 2025,鈥� said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan in the diplomatic communication on Thursday.
The new dates for the visit will be finalised through mutual consultations, it added.
The visit was officially announced after the 6th Foreign Office Consultation between Bangladesh and India held in Dhaka after 15 years.
Pakistan foreign secretary Amna Baloch led the Pakistan side in the foreign secretary-level meeting with her Bangladesh counterpart Md Jasim Uddin at the State Guest House Padma in the city.
The Foreign Office Consultation also discussed the scheduled visit of Ishaq Dar to Bangladesh.
鈥楾he FOC formed a working group comprising officials from the Pakistan High Commission here for working out issues and making preparations for the visit of Pakistan deputy prime minister, who is also the foreign minister,鈥� Jashim told reporters after the meeting.
The last FOC between Bangladesh and Pakistan was held in 2010 in Islamabad.
Meanwhile, India and Pakistan exchanged an escalating series of tit-for-tat diplomatic measures on Thursday after New Delhi blamed its arch-rival allegedly for backing the shooting attack in India-administered Kashmir, Agence France-Presse reported from New Delhi.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi vowed to pursue and punish the gunmen responsible for killing 26 civilians in the tourist hotspot of Pahalgam on Tuesday, accusing Pakistan of supporting 鈥榗ross-border terrorism鈥�.
Pakistan鈥檚 government, on the other hand, hit back with a string of tit-for-tat measures against its neighbour India, who accused Islamabad of supporting 鈥榗ross-border terrorism鈥� following the brutal attack on Indian tourists, AFP reported from Islamabad.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif convened a rare meeting of the National Security Committee with top military officials, including Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir, in the capital Islamabad in response to India鈥檚 measures, according to the AFP report.
鈥楢ny threat to Pakistan鈥檚 sovereignty and to the security of its people will be met with firm reciprocal measures in all domains,鈥� a statement released by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif鈥檚 office said after the NSC meeting.
Both Dhaka and Islamabad have appeared keen in enhancing their bilateral relations after Bangladesh鈥檚 interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus took over last year following the fall of Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India on August 5 amid a student-led mass uprising bringing an end to her 15-year autocratic regime.
