BNP wants friendly ties with India: Mirza Fakhrul

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said his party wants a friendly relationship with India. He believes that New Delhi must take the initiative to overcome the current strains in ties.

Currently in New York as part of the delegation accompanying Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus to the United Nations General Assembly, Fakhrul told a Bangladeshi media outlet that BNP seeks good relations with all countries, including India. “Our party has no shortage of sincerity in this regard,” he stated.

Fakhrul said, “It was India’s interference in Bangladesh’s internal politics that damaged Dhaka-Delhi ties. They supported every election held under the Awami League government without voters. These actions hurt relations—India suffered, the Awami League suffered. No one else needed to harm them; they harmed themselves. When politics is abandoned in favour of conspiracy, losses are inevitable.”

He stressed that the responsibility for improving relations rests with India: “If they truly want friendship, solutions are possible.”

He added, “We want party-to-party friendship with all countries. That is why we are travelling to different nations. We once had good ties with India as well. Now it depends on them—how far they wish to maintain relations.”

However, Fakhrul clarified that BNP does not seek relations with any country at the expense of national interests.