Why Pakistan is rushing to mend fences with Bangladesh

Islamabad, Pakistan – When the overseas minister, Ishaq Dar, landed astatine Dhaka airport connected a windswept, overcast greeting connected August 23, it was the archetypal clip successful 13 years that specified a elder Pakistani authoritative had visited Bangladesh, which had breached from Pakistan 54 years ago.

Dar, who besides serves arsenic Pakistan’s lawman premier minister, struck an optimistic tone, calling the “historic” circuit the commencement of “a caller signifier of our reinvigorated partnership”.

Acknowledging a thaw successful bilateral relations, helium pointed to the “significant progress” made implicit the past year.

“We indispensable enactment unneurotic to make an situation wherever younker from Karachi to Chittagong, Quetta to Rajshahi, Peshawar to Sylhet and Lahore to Dhaka articulation hands to look challenges and realise their shared dreams,” Dar said, naming cities crossed some countries.

His sojourn symbolised a breakthrough aft months of diplomatic and subject engagements betwixt Pakistan and Bangladesh. Relations person warmed rapidly since the August 2024 ouster of erstwhile Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was wide perceived arsenic being adjacent to India, and who was forced retired by monolithic student-led protests.

But Masood Khalid, Pakistan’s erstwhile ambassador to China, cautioned that the past continues to complicate trust-building betwixt the 2 nations.

“The caller authorities of Bangladesh has responded positively to Pakistan’s gestures. Clearly, determination were artificial barriers to adjacent relations that person present been removed,” helium told Al Jazeera.

What was present needed, helium said, was a “framework for deeper engagement, wherever constructive dialog tin dispel misunderstandings”.

Military and diplomatic engagements intensify

While Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, person of Bangladesh’s interim government, doubly past year, fewer analysts expected specified a swift betterment successful ties, oregon the regular, high-level exchanges that followed.

In January, Lieutenant General S M Kamr-ul-Hassan of the Bangladesh Army visited Islamabad to conscionable Pakistan’s service chief, General Asim Munir. In February, Bangladesh’s naval chief, Admiral Mohammad Nazmul Hassan, followed, and 2 months later, Pakistani Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch travelled to Dhaka.

Dar’s travel had been delayed by Pakistan’s four-day clash with India successful May, but July saw Minister of Interior Mohsin Naqvi visiting Dhaka.

Dar’s eventual accomplishment successful Dhaka successful August coincided with that of Lieutenant General Muhammad Faizur Rahman, the quartermaster wide of the Bangladesh Army successful Pakistan, wherever helium held talks with the president of the Pakistani Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza.

Delwar Hossain, an planetary relations prof astatine the University of Dhaka, said that Pakistan’s “hasty efforts” to fortify ties are strategic.

“Pakistan was trying to normalise relations adjacent nether the Hasina government. Now they spot an accidental to revive the enslaved they enjoyed successful the post-1975 era,” helium told Al Jazeera, referencing the play aft the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s laminitis and Hasina’s father.

Relations betwixt Islamabad and Dhaka normalised nether Ziaur Rahman, Bangladesh’s subject chief-turned-president, who led the state from precocious 1975 until he, too, was assassinated successful 1981.

“Regime alteration has historically created a binary of relationship and antagonism successful Bangladesh’s ties with India and Pakistan. Pakistan whitethorn besides privation to exploit the existent tensions successful Bangladesh-India relations. This is simply a communal diplomatic practice,” Hossain added.

Bangladesh’s warfare of independency legacy

For decades, Islamabad and New Delhi person viewed ties with Dhaka done the prism of their rivalry, a dynamic rooted successful Bangladesh’s 1971 warfare of independence.

When Pakistan and India gained independency from Britain successful 1947, Pakistan was created arsenic a Muslim-majority authorities with 2 geographically separated wings.

The occidental wing, location to astir 34 cardinal radical of divers ethnicities, was seen arsenic dominant. The eastbound wing, East Pakistan — which would go Bangladesh — was much populous, with much than 42 cardinal Bengali speakers. India stood betwixt the 2 parts of Pakistan.

As grievances grew successful the east, India supported the Bengali liberation struggle. Pakistan’s subject and allied militias carried retired atrocities, sidesplitting hundreds of thousands of radical and allegedly raping an estimated 200,000 women.

With India’s subject backing, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his Awami League enactment led Bangladesh to independence. He became the country’s founding president.

Hasina, who led Bangladesh for 16 years earlier her removal past year, is wide seen arsenic adjacent to India, wherever she has been surviving since past year.

Aizaz Chaudhry, Pakistan’s erstwhile overseas secretary, said that the shared grievances implicit India’s “regional hegemony” person spurred Islamabad and Dhaka to repair ties.

“Bangladeshis person experienced Indian hegemony, and we, successful Pakistan, saw it successful the May conflict. Both nations present recognize the request for equilibrium of powerfulness successful South Asia,” helium told Al Jazeera.

In May, India and Pakistan fought a little but aggravated four-day aerial war aft gunmen killed 26 people, mostly tourists, successful an onslaught successful Pahalgam, successful Indian-administered Kashmir. India has blamed Pakistan for the attack, allegations that Islamabad rejects.

Shahab Enam Khan, the enforcement manager of the Bangladesh Center for Indo-Pacific Affairs, described Dhaka’s narration with New Delhi arsenic “lukewarm”, contempt India being a important neighbour, but added that overseas argumentation is driven by economical imperatives.

“Anti-India sentiment is often exaggerated,” helium said. “Bangladesh historically avoids viewing relations, particularly with Pakistan, done a purely information oregon subject lens, preferring economical and determination cooperation.”

China’s increasing role

Regional dynamics are further analyzable by China’s increasing influence successful South Asia. Beijing, a adjacent state of Islamabad, had beardown relations with Hasina, who successfully juggled her relationship with India and China – though the 2 Asian giants are different rivals.

Dhaka University’s Hossain said that China had managed to clasp a important beingness successful Bangladesh adjacent aft Hasina’s ouster. In March, Yunus visited Beijing, followed by Bangladesh Army main General Waker-Uz-Zaman’s weeklong China travel successful August.

“Bangladesh is considering buying 12 J-10C combatant jets to boost its aerial power,” helium added, referring to Chinese-made planes that Pakistan besides has, and that Islamabad utilized successful the May conflict. China is besides Pakistan’s closest strategical partner, and the root of some economical loans and investments arsenic good arsenic subject equipment.

“These developments are bringing Dhaka and Islamabad closer, transforming ties into a beardown partnership,” Hossain said. 

Pakistani and Bangladeshi officials held respective meetings during Dar’s sojourn to Dhaka successful August [Handout/Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs]

Trade, authorities arsenic countries question partnership

Dar’s two-day sojourn to Bangladesh was packed with meetings, including talks with Yunus and Adviser for Foreign Affairs Touhid Hossain.

He besides met leaders from a scope of governmental parties, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), and the student-led National Citizen Party (NCP), which spearheaded the protests that toppled Hasina.

Those meetings were peculiarly important arsenic Bangladesh is preparing for elections successful aboriginal 2026, said Abdul Basit, a erstwhile Pakistani precocious commissioner to India. “No substance what happens betwixt India and Bangladesh, Pakistan and Bangladesh volition forge ahead,” helium told Al Jazeera. “We person issues from the past, but they tin beryllium handled skilfully and should not go barriers.”

Both could payment from person economical relations, too, suggested Pakistan’s erstwhile China ambassador Khalid and Dhaka University’s Hossain.

Bangladesh, with a maturation complaint of 6 percent since 2021, is among South Asia’s fastest-growing economies. Pakistan lags behind, signaling 2.5 percent maturation past year. At the moment, bilateral commercialized is modest, tilted towards Pakistan, whose exports to Bangladesh totalled $661m successful 2024, compared with $57m successful imports.

But if some countries effort and revitalise commercialized relations, Hossain said they could each payment from the different – some arsenic a root of earthy materials and arsenic a imaginable market.

The world said Bangladesh whitethorn payment from importing fabric and textile products, rice, cement, fruits and processed nutrient from Pakistan. On the different hand, Pakistan tin import jute and jute products, hydrogen peroxide, chemicals and baccy products from Bangladesh.

“Bangladesh and Pakistan person a combined colonisation of 430 million”, helium pointed out, “which is much than doubly the size of West Europe”.

Historical grievances remain

The deepest responsibility enactment successful Pakistan-Bangladesh relations is the bequest of the 1971 war.

Dhaka continues to request a ceremonial apology for the atrocities.

Then determination is the quality implicit the presumption of much than 200,000 Urdu-speaking Muslims successful Bangladesh. After the partition successful 1947, the assemblage had mostly moved to East Pakistan from Bihar successful present-day India. East Pakistan — contiguous Bangladesh — was person to Bihar geographically than West Pakistan. But Bangladesh, whose enactment successful 1971 was built connected Bengali nationalism, has lone fixed Urdu-speaking Muslims constricted rights, and wants Pakistan to instrumentality them, thing Islamabad is reluctant to do.

Bangladesh besides seeks a part of the pre-1971 assets of the authorities of Pakistan, and the transportation of assistance that was promised by West Pakistan to East Pakistan successful 1970 aft a devastating cyclone, successful which an estimated 300,000 radical died. The dilatory and mostly inadequate effect of the West Pakistan-based authorities is cited by galore historians arsenic a large catalyst for the liberation warfare that led to the enactment of Bangladesh.

Still, Chaudhry, the erstwhile Pakistani overseas secretary, argued that nationalist sentiment successful some countries supports reconciliation.

“People of Pakistan are besides arsenic bittersweet astir the events of 1971 arsenic the radical of Bangladesh. I deliberation this symptom is common, and radical successful some countries present privation to determination on,” Chaudhry said.

However, Dhaka University’s Hossain said that, contempt beardown enactment from the existent governmental forces for strengthening Bangladesh-Pakistan relations, issues related to the 1971 warfare proceed to stay a obstruction for improved ties.

“It is important to retrieve that the ouster of Hasina from powerfulness has not fundamentally changed the mindsets of the radical of Bangladesh astir the liberation warfare and an anticipation from Pakistan for healing the past,” Hossain said.

Still, helium added, Dhaka did not privation to enactment stuck successful the past either.

“Diplomacy is simply a dynamic process. Both the countries tin determination guardant for practice successful economic, diplomatic and taste sectors, portion they volition proceed to support the healing process,” helium said.