Staff Correspondent:

Bangladesh sold out its foreign policy to another country in 1972, leaving the nation subservient ever since, claimed Convener of the National Citizen Committee, Nasiruddin Patwary.

“We served as slaves of one country, and the past 15 years have been a glaring example of this. Now, those responsible for murders are conspiring against us from that country,” he said.

He made these remarks on Tuesday (February 18) at a day-long national dialogue titled “Foreign Policy of Post-Uprising Bangladesh: In Search of New Horizons”, organised by the National Citizen Committee at the BIS Auditorium in Eskaton, Dhaka.

Patwary criticised past political leadership, saying, “When a certain party was in power or sought power, they fled to one country as they couldn’t find refuge elsewhere. Our foreign policy was limited to maintaining relations with that one country. To put it bluntly, we failed to present any global mission or vision for Bangladesh.”

Outlining his vision for future foreign policy, he said, “When we come to power, we will pursue a balanced approach to global power dynamics.”

Citing Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, Patwary said, “You are asking us for a corridor, but we dream of reaching the Himalayas. Imagine a road from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal, enabling us to trade with Nepal and China.”

“We could have benefited greatly. Yet, over the past 15 years, we have given away everything,” he added.