Pakistan on Thursday categorically rejected allegations that its premier intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), is playing any kind of a role in Bangladesh, after comments by former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed, linking Islamabad to the country’s political and security situation.
Responding to the remarks during the Foreign Office’s weekly press briefing, spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Pakistan “categorically rejects any insinuation” regarding the ISI’s alleged involvement in Bangladesh.
“India is paranoid about ISI and since the individual is based in India, maybe the virus has caught on to him too,” Andrabi said while responding to media queries.
The remarks came after Wazed, speaking at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia in New Delhi ahead of a virtual address by Sheikh Hasina, claimed that Bangladesh had become “another Pakistan on India’s eastern front” and alleged that Pakistan’s ISI had been given “an open hand” in the country.
Wazed also described Bangladesh as a “failed state”, citing alleged deteriorating human rights, restrictions on free speech and growing security threats. He further claimed the country had become fertile ground for terrorism, though he did not provide evidence to support his allegations.
His comments come amid continuing tensions between Bangladesh’s interim authorities and Sheikh Hasina, who has been living in India since being removed from office following a 2024 movement.
Dhaka had previously urged New Delhi through diplomatic channels to prevent Hasina, who faces serious charges in Bangladesh, from using Indian territory to pass political statements that could fuel instability. India has maintained that the event was organised by a private media organisation and that the government had no involvement.
