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Afghanistan–Bangladesh relations

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Afghanistan–Bangladesh relations
Map indicating locations of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and Bangladesh

Afghanistan
Bangladesh
Diplomatic mission
Afghan Embassy, DhakaBangladeshi Embassy, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Afghanistan–Bangladesh relations refer to the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Both countries are members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

History

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The Atia Mosque in Tangail District was established by a Pashtun landlord belonging to the Panni tribe. The Bengali zamindar family of Karatia are his descendants.

Early history

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The people of Afghanistan and Bangladesh have had connections for several millennia. Certain parts of both of these countries were formally part of the ancient Maurya Empire, from which they were introduced to Buddhism. In the 13th century, Khalaj tribesmen from Garmsir led by Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khalji led the first Muslim conquest of Bengal.[1][2][3] Sultan Balkhi, a crown prince of Balkh, was an early missionary who settled in northern Bengal and contributed to the spread of Islam in the region.[4] With the ultimate establishment of Bengal as a Dar al-Islam, there was a migratory influx of Afghans to the country, which continued up until the British colonial period.

During the reign of the Sultan of Bengal Nasiruddin Nasrat Shah, the Pashtun Lodi tribe led by Mahmud Lodi fled to Bengal to escape the Mughal invasion headed by Babur. The Bengali sultan offered large amounts of land to the Afghans, and even married the daughter of Ibrahim Lodi.[5] The Sur tribe became the first Pashtun dynasty to take control of Bengal in 1539, but they were soon ousted by another Pashtun tribe, the Karranis, in 1564. Threatened by Mughal aggression in northern India once again, significant numbers of Afghans sought refuge in Bengal. The Afghans formed a confederacy with a group of Bengali nobles after Karrani rule had disintegrated, and this alliance came to be known as the Baro-Bhuiyan Confederacy led by Bengali chieftain Isa Khan. By 1612, however, the final Afghan leader Usman Lohani was defeated, and Mughal rule was finally established in Bengal. Nevertheless, most of the Afghans in Bengal remained and intermarried with Bengalis, eventually becoming culturally assimilated.[6] In 1626, Afghan voyager Mahmud Balkhi mentioned in his diaries of how he came across numerous Bengali families in Rajmahal whose ancestry lay in areas in present-day Afghanistan like Balkh.[7]

Bengalis formed a significant portion of belligerents in the Afghan–Sikh Wars, particularly at the Battle of Balakot against Ranjit Singh in 1831.[8][9] During the colonial period, some Bengalis settled in Afghanistan as teachers. One such example is renowned Bengali author Syed Mujtaba Ali, who served as a professor at the Agricultural College of Kabul and wrote Deshe Bideshe (translated to English as In a Land Far from Home: A Bengali in Afghanistan).[10]

Modern history

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During the Bangladesh Liberation War, the Kingdom of Afghanistan provided a critical safe passage to Bengali civilians based in West Pakistan. The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan called for the swift recognition of the newly established state.[11]

In 2010, former US Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke requested Bangladesh to send combat troops to Afghanistan.[12] A few days later, SITE intelligence group published a report headlined "Afghan Taliban reacts to US requesting troops from Bangladesh", where the Taliban called for rejecting the US request.[13] Two days later, a press conference by the US embassy in Dhaka restated the request saying, "The United States has intensified its discussion on Bangladesh's engagement in Afghanistan for global peace and stability,".[14] However, there was a general consensus among the politicians of different parties as well as civil society members that Bangladesh should not send its troops to Afghanistan without a UN mandate.[13] Later, the Government of Bangladesh declared that Bangladesh would not send any troops to Afghanistan but offered assistance on the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the war-ravaged country.[15]

Cooperation in rebuilding Afghanistan

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Bangladesh has been actively participating in the rebuilding process of Afghanistan, which was also praised by the Afghan President Hamid Karzai.[16] Bangladesh has also offered to train Afghan civil servants, police personnel and diplomats and to create a skilled workforce. Bangladesh is also interested in providing technical and vocational training in the fields of banking, disaster management, primary and mass education, health care, agricultural etc.[17] There are about 170 Bangladeshi non-profits working in Afghanistan.[18]

Several Bangladesh-based NGOs are working for the socioeconomic development of Afghanistan. Bangladesh based BRAC has been operating in Afghanistan since 2002. As of 2012, it had 173 offices across the country, serving 29.8 million people.[19]

On 5 July 2022, The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh sent humanitarian aid in the wake of the 2022 Afghanistan earthquake

Afghanistan has sought Bangladesh's assistance in enhancing its education system.[20] In 2009, a 12-member delegation from Afghan universities visited Dhaka to gain experience on higher education system.[21] As of 2011, 35 Afghan students, were studying in Bangladeshi universities.[22] Afghanistan has an embassy in Dhaka while Bangladesh does not have an embassy in Kabul.[23]

Economic relations

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Bangladeshi jute, ceramics and pharmaceutical products have good demands in the Afghan market.[24] Afghanistan has expressed interest in recruiting manpower from Bangladesh for its reconstruction efforts.[25] In order to expand bilateral trade, Afghanistan has proposed creating a direct business link with Bangladesh.[26]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Minhāju-s Sirāj (1881). Tabaḳāt-i-nāsiri: a general history of the Muhammadan dynastics of Asia, including Hindustān, from A.H. 194 (810 A.D.) to A.H. 658 (1260 A.D.) and the irruption of the infidel Mughals into Islām. Bibliotheca Indica #78. Vol. 1. Translated by Henry George Raverty. Calcutta, India: Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal (printed by Gilbert & Rivington). p. 548.
  2. ^ the Khiljī tribe had long been settled in what is now Afghanistan ... Khalji Dynasty. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica. 23 August 2010.
  3. ^ Satish Chandra (2004). Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals-Delhi Sultanat (1206-1526) - Part One. Har-Anand. p. 41. ISBN 978-81-241-1064-5. The Khaljis were a Turkish tribe from southwest Ghur. However, Bakhtiyar was ungainly in appearance...
  4. ^ Akhter, Fariduddin (2005). Tazkeratul Aulia. Dhaka: Meena Book House. pp. 252–253.
  5. ^ Sen, Sailendra (2013). A Textbook of Medieval Indian History. Primus Books. pp. 120–121. ISBN 978-9-38060-734-4.
  6. ^ Faroqi, Gofran (2012). "Social Structure". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  7. ^ Eaton, Richard M. (1993). "7. Mughal Culture and Its Diffusion: The Place of Bengal in Mughal Culture". The rise of Islam and the Bengal frontier, 1204-1760. University of California Press. p. 167.
  8. ^ Khan, Muhy ad-Din (27 June 2019). "জিহাদ আন্দোলনে বাংলার ভূমিকা". Daily Inqilab (in Bengali).
  9. ^ Muhammad, Sharif (April 2013), "অমর বালাকোট-সংগ্রামী : নোয়াখালীর মাওলানা গাজী ইমামুদ্দীন বাঙ্গালী রাহ.", Al Kawsar (in Bengali)
  10. ^ "'In A Land Far From Home', English version of Syed Mujtaba Ali's memoir 'Deshe Bideshe', launched". bdnews24.com. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  11. ^ Anthony Arnold (1983). Afghanistan's Two-Party Communism: Parcham and Khalq. Hoover Press. p. 173. ISBN 978-0-8179-7793-1.
  12. ^ "US asks for Bangladeshi troops in Afghanistan". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  13. ^ a b "Taliban warn Bangladesh". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  14. ^ "US keen about Bangladeshi troops in Afghanistan". Bdnews24.com. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  15. ^ "Bangladesh would not send troops to Afghanistan: Hasina". The Indian Express. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  16. ^ "Karzai praises Bangladesh's Afghanistan rebuilding role". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  17. ^ "Afghanistan to overcome challenges: Dr Dipu Moni". Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha. Archived from the original on 13 June 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  18. ^ "Afghanistan looks eastwards at India, Bangladesh". Dhaka Tribune. 30 September 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  19. ^ "Afghan Taliban kill BRAC official". New Age. Archived from the original on 13 June 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  20. ^ "Afghan envoy meets DU VC". Daily Sun. Archived from the original on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  21. ^ "Bangladesh to help rebuild Afghanistan". The Daily Star. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  22. ^ "Efforts underway to enhance ties with Bangladesh". Pajhwok Afghan News. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  23. ^ "Afghanistan requests PM to reopen mission in Kabul". The Daily Star. 23 January 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  24. ^ "Kabul keen to import jute, ceramics, drugs from Bangladesh". Daily Sun. Archived from the original on 13 June 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  25. ^ "Afghanistan keen to recruit manpower from Bangladesh". The Daily Star. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  26. ^ "Kabul for more trade with Dhaka". New Age (Bangladesh). Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
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