Federal Minister for Planning and Development, Ahsan Iqbal, will represent Pakistan at the swearing-in ceremony of Bangladesh’s newly elected Prime Minister, Tarique Rehman, following an invitation from the Bangladeshi government.
Due to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s foreign commitments, Iqbal will attend the oath-taking ceremony on behalf of the Pakistani government. He departed Islamabad for Dhaka on Monday morning and is also expected to hold high-level meetings with senior Bangladeshi officials during his visit.
The visit aims to further strengthen bilateral ties between Pakistan and Bangladesh and explore new opportunities for cooperation in political, economic, and trade sectors, according to the Ministry of Planning and Development.
Rehman, who leads the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), secured a decisive victory in last week’s elections, winning 212 seats, while the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance managed 77 seats, as per the Election Commission. The 60-year-old BNP chief is set to take charge of the South Asian nation of 170 million people, succeeding an interim government that was in place following a student-led uprising that ended Sheikh Hasina’s extended rule in August 2024.
His return marks a significant political comeback, as Rehman had spent 17 years in exile in the UK before returning to Bangladesh in December to contest the elections. Invitations to the swearing-in ceremony have been sent to leaders from several South Asian and Muslim countries, including Pakistan, China, India, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Malaysia.