Shafiqur says Mecca pact should ensure no one struggles to breathe

Opposition Leader and Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman today said that joining the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement is entirely Bangladesh’s own decision.

“If Bangladesh takes any decision in the interests and needs of the country and its people, there is no reason for anyone else to find it hard to breathe,” he wrote in a post on his verified Facebook page.

Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman, on the other hand, told parliament today that Bangladesh has not yet received any proposal to join. Responding to a supplementary question from independent MP Rumeen Farhana, he said the government would consider such a proposal “positively” if it came from member states.

Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement on August 7. The pact aims to strengthen security cooperation among the three countries.