Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain on Thursday admitted that ties with India witnessed a “setback” during the interim regime led by Muhammad Yunus, but hoped that the relations could be restored under an elected government following the general election scheduled for next week.“The relations faced some setbacks under the interim government, but they (ties) remained important,” he told mediapersons. Hossain, a former career diplomat who served as the deputy high commissioner in India as well, expressed optimism that the next elected government would be able to make the relationship smoother, finding some ways.The Yunus-led interim government was installed after the ouster of Hasina’s Awami League regime in a student-led violent protest — dubbed as the July Uprising — on August 5, 2024. Since then, the 78-year-old leader has been living in India. A special Bangladeshi tribunal last year sentenced Hasina to death, accusing her of committing crimes against humanity through her efforts to brutally tame the protests, while Dhaka repeatedly demanded her extradition to face justice.Asked if India continued to refuse to return her, would the next government be able to rebuild ties with New Delhi, Hossain said, “Don’t be pessimists.” Bangladesh-India relations are said to have witnessed their lowest ebb in the past 18 months when Dhaka’s ties with Pakistan saw a remarkable development through political, trade and defence engagements.Hossain’s comments came hours after youth and sports adviser Asif Nazrul thanked Islamabad for its decision to boycott the T20 World Cup match against India to protest Bangladesh’s removal from the tournament. “Thank you, Pakistan,” Nazrul said.