PAKISTAN and Bangladesh have had a complex relationship since the tragic events of 1971. The current phase of the relationship — ever since Sheikh Hasina Wajed took over her prime ministerial duties in 2009 — has been marked by mostly frosty ties.

A sign that ties are less than cordial came in the shape of the recent report which stated that a Pakistani diplomat had been recalled from Dhaka over an ‘extremist link’. The diplomat left Bangladesh after Dhaka ‘informally’ asked for her departure.

While in principle, diplomats breaking the law in foreign countries is not something that can be condoned, in this case, it appears that politics may be at work.

For example, the diplomat is accused of transferring a grand total of 30,000 taka — around $380 — to a Bangladeshi suspect. In a world where huge amounts are transferred by militants, and governments everywhere are working to shut down the channels of terror financing, how seriously should this accusation be taken?

Instead, perhaps more than the merits of the case itself, it is the anti-Pakistan mood prevailing in Dhaka — which the Awami League-led government has been instrumental in whipping up — that is responsible for this diplomatic incident.

Whether it is the latest incident or earlier issues — such as the trial of suspects for alleged war crimes by a controversial tribunal, or the tightening of the visa regime for Pakistanis — the time has come for the situation to be addressed at the highest level.

Both prime ministers should rise to the occasion and initiate a reset in ties that can help move the relationship forward.

While Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should take up the gauntlet — and it would certainly help if Pakistani leaders refrained from publicly commenting on Bangladesh’s internal affairs — the ball is firmly in Sheikh Hasina’s court.

If intervention at the top level can help change the atmosphere positively in Pakistan-India ties — easily South Asia’s most difficult relationship — there is no reason why such efforts cannot open a new chapter in Islamabad-Dhaka ties.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2015