Pakistan tried to enhance the courtesy handshake between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Pakistan National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq in Dhaka on 31 December.
The exchange took place on the sidelines of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s funeral, which Sadiq and Jaishankar attended. It was one of the few high-level contacts seen since relations soured earlier this year following the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 tourists in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Pakistan National Assembly Secretariat in Pakistan issued a press release and claimed that the handshake took place when Jaishankar approached Ayazi Sadiq during the event, Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported.
A press release said that since the Pahalgam attack, Pakistan has “consistently emphasized dialogue, restraint and cooperative measures, including proposals for peace talks and joint investigations… to prevent unprovoked aggression and escalation”.
With Jaishankar represented India at Khaled Zia’s funeral on Wednesday and handed over a condolence letter from Prime Minister Modi to Rahman.
Khaleda Zia, three-time prime minister of Bangladesh and BNP matriarchy died on Tuesday after a long illness.
Tense India-Pak ties
India-Pakistan relations came under severe strain earlier this year following the Pahalgam terror attack, following which India took calibrated diplomatic and strategic measures to ensure national security.
In response to the attack, India scaled back diplomatic engagement and initiated policy actions reflecting its longstanding position that dialogue cannot coexist with terrorism. Among these measures was the suspension of participation in the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), a landmark 1960 agreement brokered by the World Bank, underscoring the seriousness with which India viewed the security situation.
India has also reduced cross-border transit and other bilateral engagements, reiterating that any engagement requires demonstrable counter-terrorism measures and accountability for attacks targeting civilians.
In this context, India launched Operation Sindoor on 7 May 2025, targeting terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir in response to the attack.
Indian armed forces have carried out precision strikes against terror camps run by Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK). India subsequently repelled Pakistan’s escalation and targeted its air bases.
India has consistently emphasized that any engagement with Pakistan must be based on mutual respect, verifiable security guarantees and a terrorism-free environment, while firmly protecting its national interests.
