ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Bangladesh have signaled a gradual easing of tensions as Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Sahir Shamshad Mirza held meetings with senior civilian and military leadership in Dhaka to discuss defense and security cooperation, Pakistan’s military said on Monday.
Pakistan and Bangladesh were once one nation, but they split in 1971 after a bloody civil war, which saw the part previously referred to as East Pakistan seceding to form the independent nation of Bangladesh.
In the years since, Bangladeshi leaders, particularly former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, chose to maintain close ties with India, Pakistan’s arch-rival. Ties between Pakistan and Bangladesh have warmed up since Hasina’s ouster as a result of a student-led uprising in August 2024, with both sides cautiously reopening diplomatic channels.
In January, Bangladesh’s Principal Staff Officer of the Armed Forces Division, Lt. Gen. S. M. Kamr-ul-Hassan, undertook a rare multi-day visit to Pakistan. In August, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar visited Dhaka for official talks. Mirza’s visit marks the latest in this sequence of renewed high-level contacts.
“Both sides held detailed discussion on the evolving global and regional environment and security situation and recognized the importance of strengthening bilateral defense and security cooperation,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
“The Chairman JCSC reaffirmed Pakistan’s appreciation for its longstanding fraternal ties with Bangladesh and highlighted the shared resolve to further deepen these relations on the basis of sovereign equality and mutual respect,” the statement added.
“Both sides expressed optimism about improving defense and security collaboration and reaffirmed their commitment to expanding military-to-military engagements and related initiatives.”
Mirza also visited the School of Infantry and Tactics in Sylhet, interacting with faculty and students. According to ISPR, Bangladesh’s civil-military leadership “appreciated the high professional standards of Pakistan Armed Forces and their achievements and sacrifices in the fight against terrorism.”
Earlier, at Senakunjo, General Mirza received a Guard of Honour and laid a wreath at Shikha Anirban, the national memorial honoring Bangladesh’s war martyrs.
This February, Bangladesh resumed direct trade with Pakistan for the first time since its independence in 1971, with the first shipment of 50,000 tons of rice leaving Port Qasim under a government-to-government deal.
