Is Bangladesh becoming 2nd Pakistani on our East ?
The history of Bangladesh and Pakistan has some significant differences; however, their contemporary trends indicate certain similarities.
Is Bangladesh becoming the ‘new Pakistan’? Some parallels between two politically-fragile countries
Bangladesh, which once was a poster child for development success story is now rapidly moving towards being written as Pakistan – a country notorious for its political turmoil, military interference, and economic woes. The suggestion that Bangladesh is already or is turning into the ‘new Pakistan’ is not far from the truth because there are a number of ugly similarities that exist between the two countries with regard to their political systems, as well as societies.
Political Instability
Among all these, the most conspicuous are increasing political instability in Bangladesh. Similar to Pakistan where, regime power has periodically changed from civilian authority to military junta, Bangladesh is now experiencing rising political strife. The main parties are the Awami league and the BNP and they have made society so polarized that there is no room for any sort of compromise . Cases of manipulations of the election results, the aggressive clampdown on the opposition and the civil liberties in the country are not unusual and bring back memories of the Pakistan society’s darkest days. There are also existing acts of extremism and intolerance threatening the two countries. Pakistan finally has experience problems with radical Islamist groups that have even grown in strength over the time. The same is true for Bangladesh; the country has also faced the growing escalated Islamist militancy with clips on the secular bloggers, activists and the religious minorities. They both threaten the continued stability of these two nations’ societies, each of which increasingly becomes a hotbed of radicalism.
Economic Instability
The two nations face more economic hitches that tie them together. The Pakistani economy has been in anemic state for years now, debt, inflation and unemployment rates had been soaring. Bangladesh, the economy of which has been blooming in the past decades has now began experiencing some difficulties in its economic growth, resultant from the slow growth in exports, high inflation rates, and income disparity. Some of these problems if not controlled could lead to several social inequalities and therefore political instabilities.
Thus, the history of both countries has some significant differences; however, their contemporary trends indicate certain similarities. The successive situation in Bangladesh is like Pakistan, the rising political instability, increased extremism, and economic problems do not leave the future of this South Asian nation to be questionable.
We’re now on WhatsApp. Click to join
Like this postRegister at One World News to never miss out on videos, celeb interviews, and best reads.
