Dhaka: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar arrived in Dhaka on Saturday for a rare 2-day visit, aimed at rebuilding ties with Bangla­desh following the ouster of longtime prime minister Sheikh Hasi­na. A special flight carrying Dar, the most senior Pakistani leader to visit Bangladesh since 2012, arrived in Dhaka, with Islamabad calling it a “significant milestone” in bilateral relations.

Bangladesh’s Foreign Secr­e­tary Asad Alam Siam receiv­ed Dar at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. Hina Rabbani Khar was the last Pakistani foreign minister to visit Dhaka in November 2012 to invite then then premier Hasina to a summit in Islamabad.

Officials said the Pakistani diplomat will hold bilateral talks on Sunday with Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain, and sign half a dozen agreements and MoUs. “He (Dar) is expected to pay a courtesy call on Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus. Meetings are expected with BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) Chairperson Khaleda Zia and leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami,” an official said. —PTI