Dhaka: Intelligence agencies must step back from dictating foreign policy across South Asia, leaving those decisions to elected politicians, asserted Humayun Kabir, foreign affairs adviser to Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) acting chairman Tarique Rahman, the party’s joint secretary general for International Affairs.In an interview with The Wire at the party’s electoral office in Gulshan two days after BNP’s landslide win in the parliamentary elections, Kabir said that it was an “unhealthy culture” for intelligence agencies to get involved in foreign policy decisions.A Sylhet native with advanced degrees from UK universities, Kabir was in the UK Cabinet Office under Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak before spearheading BNP’s overseas outreach from London for over 15 years.Kabir acknowledges that relations between Bangladesh and India have deteriorated significantly, with growing public anger toward New Delhi over its perceived close association with the ousted Sheikh Hasina government. “During the Sheikh Hasina autocratic regime, India’s relationship for 15 years was with Hasina exclusively, not with the people of Bangladesh,” he said, adding that India now needs to take the first step in resetting ties.Despite the tensions, Kabir views recent outreach from Indian leaders as positive signs. He cited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s congratulatory call to Tarique Rahman as a move in the right direction.Here is the interview, verbatim except slight edits for clarity:There is perceptible anger towards India over its perceived association with Sheikh Hasina. Do you think that sentiment constrains how far the incoming government can go in engaging with New Delhi? Does India need to take the first step in resetting ties?Yes, I mean, it is certainly a challenging issue. During the Sheikh Hasina autocratic regime, India’s relationship for 15 years was with Hasina exclusively, not with the people of Bangladesh. So, I feel that there is an anger, a hatred towards India that has developed. Young people and the general public saw Sheikh Hasina “sell” India to the people as a force bailing her out from her crimes all the time. She frequently used India’s name.It has caused perceptional damage to India. In a way, India now has to take the first step to reset, recognising that Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League no longer exist in Bangladesh. They must be constrained and not be seen to be complicit with Sheikh Hasina’s terrorist activities aimed at destabilising Bangladesh. Sheikh Hasina is a terrorist. After killing several thousand people, she fled the country and is now residing in Indian sovereign territory. She is being allowed to conduct criminal and terrorist activities. Along with her, a lot of Awami League criminals are there. They must be constrained and restrained from doing anything against Bangladesh or trying to destabilise Bangladeshi territory in any way. If they can keep a mindset to reset, it is possible to have a cooperative relationship.If Sheikh Hasina continues to make statements from India, could that directly affect bilateral relations?It is up to India to restrain her. It is India’s decision. India has already given her shelter. She is a wanted person. She has been charged legitimately in an open court with evidence. She has already been sentenced to death in one case. Consider how many people she killed and how much money she looted. India must not be seen to be protecting a terrorist and a criminal, and giving her space to create further instability in a neighbouring country.What specific signals or actions would you like to see from India to demonstrate a reset in relations?There are some good gestures already. Prime Minister Modi sent congratulatory words to Tarique Rahman. Those were kind words. Recognising the confidence of the people in his leadership following this resounding victory is a good gesture. That is how we can work together in the future. It is a diplomatic norm. It has already been done. These are slight moves now toward the right direction and can help harness cooperation. If we can maintain this restraint, then the people’s sentiment will also change. We will see that India’s talks and actions are also adding up.Can the Sheikh Hasina factor be put in a “deep freeze” while India and Bangladesh move forward in other areas of cooperation?The judiciary and the transparent legal process of Bangladesh will deal with Sheikh Hasina and her crimes. Of course, the demand to get her back will be there as a legal process. That procedure will follow through the legal process. Leaving it to the legal process while India realises that Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League no longer exist – that is the reset. We start from a new page, a new face, and a new dawn.How do you plan to address unresolved bilateral issues such as water sharing?There are many unresolved issues between us and India. Together, between us and India, we have a billion-plus youth population – perhaps the largest in the world. We can only look forward, not backward, all the time.During the campaign, your opponents accused the BNP of being close to India. How do you respond to that charge?That was electoral rhetoric. In Indian elections, you see issues regarding West Bengal or Assam come up. There are extremist elements in India who will shout against Muslims or Bangladeshis. We understand these are electoral tactics. They were trying to make us a victim of propaganda. The BNP will not go against the interests of the people of Bangladesh. The people understand that a BNP government will not be sold out to any country.Yesterday, the BJP West Bengal Twitter account had also posted that Jamaat wins in the border constituencies is a cause for concern.They are dependent on propaganda to get their mandate, just as Jamaat was. One is no less than the other.In earlier years, BNP leaders visited Delhi while in opposition. Did you engage with Indian government officials during that period?In terms of that, no. But we used to go to those think tanks. As I said, it was a relationship between Sheikh Hasina and India, not the people. We told them then to widen their net, that you are dealing with one rotten apple in the basket and that will create serious problems for you.How would a BNP government approach contentious economic issues such as the trade deficit with India?If we address the challenges pragmatically, there are things we could do regarding trade, investment, and social cooperation. We share a subcontinental environment where our relationship with people should be strengthened.It is an unhealthy culture in South Asia where intelligence agencies get involved in taking foreign policy decisions. It should be politicians and the political government taking those decision.In Pakistan, foreign policy is being influenced by intelligence. Even in India, it is becoming the same. In Bangladesh, it was also going in that direction. We have to come out of that.Foreign policy decisions should be handed back to the political leaders. Intelligence support is needed for professional expertise on certain things, and we should take that assessment. But the foreign policy decisions should not be decided by intelligence agencies. It should be decided by our political governments and politicians.I understand that you were present when Indian PM called BNP chairman. What was the conversation about?I was there for the call between the Indian PM and our leader. It was a cordial conversation. He congratulated him on the resounding victory. This proves the confidence of the Bangladeshi people in our leadership. He also gave an invitation to visit at a time of choice and offered early Ramadan greetings.Have you decided what will be Tarique Rahman’s first foreign visit ?No, we haven’t decided yet. Obviously, our regional space is important.The Yunus government talked a lot about the revival of SAARC. Would a BNP government prioritise that?We are interested in the regional framework. We want to build a strong region and be partners in a strong region.What about BIMSTEC?We can look to activate that. A lot of people don’t even know the headquarters are in Dhaka. It is a bridge between South Asia and Southeast Asia. We can look at the existing processes and open up channels of communication. For a BNP government, the top national security priority is resolving the Rohingya issue.Because of the resounding mandate, Tarique Rahman will have a strong mandate to negotiate from a position of strength. Myanmar is not in its previous state, so we can talk to them about how these people can move back in a secure way.How should international observers interpret Jamaat’s performance in this election?There was no election for 17 years. Earlier they had 18 to 20 seats of influence. After 17 years, it is normal that this has doubled.You have to look at regions like Rangpur, which is a neglected region. There is no development there. When people see no development and view India as complicit with Hasina, sentiment will be high. This is why we need development, why we need the Teesta agreement finalised, and why we need to renew the Ganges Treaty.We believe if we reset the mindset from both sides, we will be able to reset the relationship. India must realise Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League do not have peace with Bangladesh. Restraining Hasina, who is a terrorist who killed 1,500 people, is key. India must not be seen as complicit with that.Given increasing competition among India, China and the US in Bangladesh, how will your government navigate major power rivalries?Our point is that who likes what is none of our business. It is not India’s business, America’s business, or China’s business. We will do what we need to do for our development. We won’t stop our development because of India’s wishes, or America’s, or China’s.There were many development projects India was doing here that have stopped. They are there, but as I said, if the core foundation is not right – if the relationship is wrong – you can’t build on it. If it’s just a relationship between a government and an individual, you can’t do anything.You need to come into a normal relationship; it should be people-to-people. This is how it was before.During Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s time, everyone used to meet. Even when we went there, we met everyone. But under Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule, this all went out the window. She wouldn’t allow anyone to speak or meet.The Indian government was happy because it was serving their interests, otherwise, they would have acted differently. That was not good for a government like India. They should have been more mature on that aspect. But we don’t want to look back on bad decisions. We want a clean break. We want to look forward.