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What is the main purpose of the UAE restrictions on the issuance of visas to citizens of 13 major Muslim-majority countries?
The talks are being debated at a time when Israel established direct air ties with the country on Thursday.
The first “Fly-Dubai” Airlines flight from Dubai flew to Tel Aviv on Thursday. He was received by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This is the first direct commercial flight of its kind since normal diplomatic relations were established between the two countries.
On the same day the flight started, Reuters reported that UAE visa restrictions for citizens of 13 countries were being applied not only to travel visas, but also to employment visas.
These 13 countries include: Iran, Turkey, Syria, Somalia, Algeria, Kenya, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Tunisia, Afghanistan, Libya, and Yemen. Of these, all the countries except Kenya have a Muslim majority. Some countries have very friendly relations with Iran.
They did not say why the UAE imposed the ban. So there is a lot of speculation about it.
Many of the countries against which sanctions are imposed work in the UAE. Especially in Pakistan, Iran, Syria, Lebanon and Afghanistan.
Some security analysts speculate that security concerns may be at stake, especially after the recent attack on the French embassy in Saudi Arabia. But many do not agree with this argument, because a Saudi citizen was involved in the attack. However, sanctions have been imposed on all countries, most of which are known to be close allies of Iran or with whom Iran has significant ties.
Not only that, 11 of the 13 countries have criticized the UAE’s normalization of relations with Israel. Some countries speak quite loudly.
What does the UAE embargo on 13 countries have to do with normalizing relations with Israel?
Retired Major General Muniruzzaman, an analyst on terrorism and international security, believes there are reasons to suspect this.
In an interview with BBC Bangla, he said: “Terrorism can be a major problem in some of these 13 countries. But at the same time, there are some countries where terrorism is not a big problem. But none of these countries is favored by Israel. “.
“We know that the UAE has recently established relations with Israel. Therefore, the question of whether Israel has any influence behind the sanctions is on the minds of many analysts. But it is not yet clear.”
Could the reason for the ban be that they have criticized the UAE for establishing normal relations with Israel?
General Muniruzzaman said: “Many people think that Israel has an influence or a hand behind this decision. More recently, when the UAE established relations with Israel, their relations are deepening very rapidly. In this case, Israel is influencing in the United Arab Emirates. ” Sanctions may be imposed on them, but it is not possible to say for sure. “
The UAE has not only established diplomatic relations with Israel. At the same time, they are moving towards cooperation in aviation, tourism, security, trade and for citizens of the two countries to travel to each other’s countries without visas.
In that case, could Israel have made such a request to the UAE out of concern for its security?
ম General Muniruzzaman said that it would not be correct to think that the UAE’s relationship with Israel has developed suddenly. Israel has been working behind the scenes for a long time, and Israel has taken into account the security risks that could arise. Perhaps the UAE is trying to create a visa system by analyzing them completely.
“Israel thinks that if it is successful in its relations with the United Arab Emirates, it will be able to attract other Muslim countries, especially if it is successful economically. That is why trade, travel, tourism, etc. are between the two countries.” . “We are trying to keep their doors open. I think they have made this decision after analyzing their security risks.”
Many believe that Iran is a major factor in the UAE’s travel ban. These countries have significant strategic interests in Iran or have good cooperative relations with them. Or there are significant numbers of Shiite Muslims in these countries.
On the other hand, Iran’s relations with the United Arab Emirates and Israel are very hostile. Is this also a reason for the ban?
General Muniruzzaman says he cannot rule out the idea that Iran is at the center of the decision.
“If you look at the list of these countries, you will see that these countries have relations with Iran. In many cases, they continue to communicate and trade with them. So it would not be wrong in our analysis to think that Iran is a factor.” It has always worked. Whenever possible, they do it in a room. “
However, Bangladesh is not on the list of these 13 countries of the United Arab Emirates, although a large number of Bangladeshis work there.
General Muniruzzaman said he was not surprised that Bangladesh was not on the list.
“Bangladesh has not been on the list as of late in terms of the type of terrorist activity that is considered a security risk. Also, Bangladesh’s current relationship with Iran is not very deep. However, it is not surprising that Bangladesh is not on the list. “
General Muniruzzaman said: “The Bangladeshis who are currently in the UAE, who work there, have a lot of reputations. From that point of view, I am not very surprised that Bangladesh is not on this list.”
Source: BBC
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