Time is a great healer, but the wounds of the separation from East Pakistan still haunt us. Yet, 54 years after the emergence of Bangladesh, one can observe enormous potential and opportunities along with challenges in reviving and revitalizing Pakistan-Bangladesh relations.
Following the monsoon revolution of August 2024, which led to the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from power, Pakistan-Bangladesh ties, which during Sheikh Hasina’s era remained below normal, got an impetus. A paradigm shift in Pakistan-Bangladesh ties is now a reality, and it seems the two countries will keep up the momentum in their relations following regime change in Dhaka.
Steps taken by the caretaker government of Dr. Muhammad Yunus, like exempting Pakistani cargo ships from inspection in Bangladeshi ports, easing visa restrictions, and reciprocating Islamabad’s gesture to augment trade and commercial relations, along with the resumption of direct air connectivity, are commendable.
Furthermore, the visits of the Bangladeshi Chief of Naval Staff and Lt. Gen S. M. Kamrul Hasan, Principal Staff Officer (PSO) of the Bangladeshi Army, to Islamabad also reflected growing defense cooperation in Pakistan-Bangladesh relations. Military ties between the two countries got an impetus when a high-level delegation from Rawalpindi visited Dhaka in January and visited different military establishments in Bangladesh. However, unlike the visit of the PSO of the Bangladesh Army to Pakistan, which was reported by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Islamabad did not provide official media coverage of the visit of the army delegation to Dhaka. As usual, the Indian side raised a hue and cry about the ‘secret visit’ of Pakistani military officials to Bangladesh.
According to a news report, “Red flags in Delhi as a 4-member ISI team from Pak makes a quiet visit to Dhaka,” by Rezaul Haq Laskar, published in the January 23, 2025 issue of the Hindustan Times. It read, “A delegation from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, including a two-star general, flew to Bangladesh on Tuesday, marking a sudden upgrade in military-to-military engagements between Dhaka and Islamabad that is unlikely to go down well in New Delhi. There have been several high-level contacts between the political and security establishments of Bangladesh and Pakistan in recent weeks, adding to the disquiet in New Delhi over the sharp downturn in India-Bangladesh relations since the caretaker regime headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took over last August following Hasina’s ouster in a movement spearheaded by student leaders. Hasina is currently in self-exile in India”.
According to the same report, “Under the previous Sheikh Hasina government, contacts between the ISI and Bangladeshi organizations, especially the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), came to a halt. Hasina’s government also prosecuted a large number of people on charges of colluding with Pakistan during the 1971 war of liberation, drawing Islamabad’s ire.”
Back-to-back military and defense-related contacts between Pakistan and Bangladesh following the monsoon revolution indicate a marked degree of qualitative change in relations between the two erstwhile countries, which were united for around 25 years.
Recently, Ambassador Imran Ahmed Siddiqui, an additional secretary of South Asia and Pacific Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad and a former high commissioner to Bangladesh, visited Dhaka. His visit took place ahead of the planned visit of Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Senator Ishaq Dar, to Dhaka in April. In an interview given to Daily Observer Dhaka, published in the March 6, 2025 issue, Ambassador Siddiqui clarified that “my visit aims to strengthen bilateral relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh by enhancing cooperation in political, economic, cultural, and defense sectors. I have engaged with senior officials to explore new avenues for collaboration and reaffirm Pakistan’s commitment to deepening ties with Bangladesh. Pakistan has always sought cooperative relations with successive governments in Bangladesh. Over the past seven months, our bilateral ties have seen several positive developments, including the revival of high-level engagements and initiatives to facilitate trade and travel. We are committed to building on this momentum to foster a stable and mutually beneficial partnership.”
Out of 54 years of its existence as an independent state of Bangladesh, the Awami League remained in power for 26 years, which reflected fragile ties with Pakistan. Particularly in the last almost 16 years of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s rule, relations with Pakistan were at the lowest ebb. Severe visa curbs on Pakistani nationals, low trade and commercial ties, and a freeze in cultural, academic, and educational ties reflected the hostile attitude of the Awami League regime against Pakistan. Tilting in favour of India and snubbing Pakistan, although its gestures to develop close relations with Dhaka, became a part of the state policy of Bangladesh during Sheikh Hasina’s tenure. So much so that on the occasion of the golden jubilee of Bangladesh in 2021, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to Dhaka, proudly took the credit for the liberation of Bangladesh, which was tantamount to acknowledging interference in the internal crisis of a sovereign country.
Based in Karachi, the writer is a Meritorious Professor of International Relations and former Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Karachi. He can be reached at amoonis@hotmail.com
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