In Bangladesh, Pakistan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman General Sahir Shamshad Mirza called on Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus in Dhaka yesterday. They discussed a wide range of issues concerning Bangladesh-Pakistan relations, including growing importance of bilateral trade, investment, and defence cooperation.
Both sides underscored the need to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East and Europe. They exchanged views on the growing challenge of misinformation and the misuse of social media by non-state actors to undermine peace and stability across various regions.
Bangladesh’s National Security Adviser Dr Khalilur Rahman, Senior Secretary and SDG Coordinator Lamiya Morshed, and Pakistan High Commissioner to Bangladesh Imran Haider were present at the meeting.
The meeting indicates the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government’s keenness to cosy up to Pakistan, which has been trying to woo successive governments in Bangladesh to normalise Islamabad-Dhaka relations. The strained ties between the two countries — a legacy of the Liberation War of 1971 that the erstwhile East Pakistan fought with the then West Pakistan, resulting in the birth of independent Bangladesh — has seen signs of a thaw since Yunus took charge of the country on August 8, 2024, following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime in the face of a student-led protest.
