Time to Repair Bangladesh–Pakistan Ties

This is high time to repair the Bangladesh–Pakistan multilateral relations and reach a new height against the backdrop of strained Bangladesh–India relations, which show no sign of improvement after the Dr Yunus–Modi meeting in Bangkok this month.

Bangladesh and Pakistan held a foreign secretary-level Foreign Office Consultation (FOC) in Dhaka after a gap of nearly 15 years. Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin and Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch led their respective sides during the FOC held at the State Guest House Padma in the capital on Thursday.

Bangladesh wants to enhance relations with all South Asian countries, including India and Pakistan, as its foreign policy is pro-Bangladesh, Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said recently.

"Our foreign policy is a pro-Bangladesh one," he told a press briefing while responding to a question about the visit of Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar later this month.

Alam said Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus has repeatedly called for the revival of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) as a top regional platform during meetings at home and abroad. Bangladesh wants enhanced relations with the SAARC countries, he said.

Prof Yunus is seeking improved relations with all South Asian nations, the press secretary said, adding, "Pakistan is also part of the South Asian family. We want improved relations with India, Bhutan, and Nepal too." He mentioned that the interim government has decided to set up an economic zone for Nepal and is looking for land in the North Bengal area, which is part of efforts to improve relations with the South Asia family.

Despite Bangladesh’s goodwill gesture and expectations to improve relations with India after the ungracious departure of former dictator Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 5 August 2024 through a mass movement engineered by students, New Delhi seems lacklustre in moving the relations with Dhaka in a positive direction.

During the Bangladesh Investment Development Summit 2025 held on 7–10 April 2025, India terminated the transshipment facility that allowed Bangladesh to export cargo to third countries through its land borders. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) issued a circular on 8 April 2025 regarding the withdrawal of the facility.

Bangladesh's economy has been under pressure with the USA announcing the imposition of an extra 37 per cent tariff on Bangladeshi goods. However, the USA suspended tariffs on Bangladeshi goods for the next three months as the interim government head, Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus, urged the USA to review the decision of increased tariffs on Bangladeshi goods.

However, stakeholders believe that the USA will impose extra tariffs on Bangladeshi goods to secure some strategic, political, and economic benefits, sources said.

Pakistani Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch, during her meeting with Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the State Guest House Jamuna in the city, clearly said that Bangladesh and Pakistan should not miss the bus every time when it comes to improving multilateral relations to a new height.

"We have a huge intra-market potential in our own rights, and we should use it," Baloch said. "We can't miss the bus every time," said Pakistani Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch. She said there is a need for regular business-to-business (B2B) interactions between the private sectors of the two countries and exchanging visits at all levels.

In January 2025, a delegation of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) visited Bangladesh and signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce & Industries (FBCCI).

Meanwhile, Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus emphasised strengthening relations with Pakistan to boost mutual cooperation and explore trade and business potentials. The Chief Adviser made the emphasis when Pakistani Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch met him at the State Guest House Jamuna in the city.

"There are certain hurdles. We have to find ways to overcome those and move forward," he told Baloch, the first Pakistani foreign secretary to visit Bangladesh in 15 years.

Acknowledging past issues, Baloch said Bangladesh and Pakistan must find ways to "harness the potential between the two countries." The Pakistani foreign secretary hoped that the upcoming visit of the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar at the end of April would further boost relations between the two countries.

Chief Adviser Prof Yunus said he always preferred closer ties with neighbouring countries, including Pakistan, in the framework of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation). He said Bangladesh and Pakistan should exchange more youth and cultural programmes to increase people-to-people bonding.

"We kept missing each other for a long time as our relationship was frozen. We have to overcome the barriers," he said.

The Chief Adviser recalled his meetings with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in New York on the sidelines of the 79th UNGA in September 2024 and in Cairo on the sidelines of the D-8 Summit in December 2024, saying that they were key in making progress in bilateral relations.

He said Bangladesh and Pakistan will continue to work closely at multilateral and regional forums like SAARC, OIC, and D-8.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh urged Pakistan to take a “strong forward-looking approach” for bilateral ties by addressing unresolved historical issues, including a formal apology for the 1971 Liberation War genocide and due payments for pre-independence common assets.

"We have raised the historically unresolved issues with Pakistan,” Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin told newsmen after the Foreign Office Consultation (FOC) with his Pakistani counterpart Amna Baloch. He said the issues included “the repatriation of stranded Pakistanis, equitable distribution of undivided assets, transfer of foreign aid funds sent for the victims of the 1970 cyclone, and a formal public apology for the genocide committed by the then Pakistani military in 1971.”

“We (Dhaka) said this is the right time to settle the historically unsettled issues,” the Bangladesh foreign secretary said, adding these issues needed to be resolved to establish a “solid foundation of our relations" for mutual benefit and interest.

Asked what Pakistan’s response was to the call, Jashim Uddin said, “They like to remain engaged” with a positive outlook to discuss the unsettled issues in the future.

According to the foreign secretary, Dhaka asked Pakistan to pay Bangladesh US$4.3 billion as the share of common pre-independence assets, as well as the unpaid US$200 million foreign donation for victims of then-East Pakistan after the 1970 cyclone.

Asked if money devaluation over the decades was taken into consideration in quoting the amounts, the foreign secretary said the issue was just tabled during the FOC and the details were expected to come up during subsequent talks.

A reporter asked the foreign secretary if Dhaka was currently leaning towards Pakistan, as it was said Bangladesh tilted towards New Delhi in the past. In reply, Jashim Uddin said Bangladesh intended to build a relationship with Pakistan on the basis of “mutual respect” and “mutual benefit,” and not based on any tilting towards a particular country.

The foreign secretary said the FOC fixed 27 and 28 April for Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar’s planned visit to Bangladesh. The two sides hoped that direct flights between Bangladesh and Pakistan will be launched soon.

Director General of the South Asia Wing at Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Ishrat Jahan, and the High Commissioners of Bangladesh and Pakistan also attended the meeting, among other concerned officials.

“We believe comprehensive discussions held today on bilateral, regional, and global issues will help move our cooperation forward and contribute to resolving priority concerns through mutual goodwill and consensus,” the Bangladesh foreign secretary said.

He said Dhaka placed high importance on advancing ties with all neighbouring countries in line with its foreign policy objectives, while Pakistan is one of Bangladesh’s key neighbours in South Asia.

“In this context, both delegations agreed to work together to further advance the bilateral relationship between Bangladesh and Pakistan in the coming days,” he added.

Jashim said Dhaka underscored the importance of strengthening economic and trade relations with Islamabad. “We stressed the need for enhanced market access for Bangladeshi products in Pakistan, simplifying trade procedures, removing tariff barriers, and boosting Pakistani investment in Bangladesh,” he said.

The two sides also discussed enhancing cooperation in agriculture, fisheries, and livestock through the transfer of technology, improved breeds, and experience sharing to boost productivity.

The foreign secretary noted that both parties emphasised the need to exchange knowledge and best practices to combat climate change and mitigate the impact of floods.

He said improving connectivity between the two countries featured prominently in the discussions. “A direct shipping route has recently been launched between Bangladesh and Pakistan. We also discussed the resumption of direct air connectivity to strengthen people-to-people contact and expand trade opportunities,” he said.

He said that Bangladesh had already approved operations of a Pakistani private carrier, Fly Jinnah, while another airline—Air Sial, based in Sialkot—had applied for permission to launch direct flights.

The foreign secretary said both sides expressed interest in expanding collaboration in higher education and scientific research.

“There was also discussion on strengthening cultural and sports ties. Both parties encouraged cultural exchanges through visits by artists, musicians, writers, academics, and other professionals,” he added.

Jashim Uddin said Dhaka reiterated the importance of regional cooperation under the SAARC framework and called for its revitalisation to ensure stability, connectivity, and development in South Asia. He further reaffirmed Bangladesh's commitment to the objectives of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Charter and its determination to work in the interest of the Muslim Ummah.

On the Middle East situation, the foreign secretary said both countries strongly condemned the ongoing genocide and gross human rights violations perpetrated by Israeli occupation forces in Gaza. He said Bangladesh also sought Pakistan's support for the safe and voluntary repatriation of forcibly displaced Rohingyas from Bangladesh to their homeland in Myanmar.

Meanwhile, stakeholders of Bangladesh and Pakistan are expected to work together to elevate multilateral relations to a new height, as the Dhaka–Islamabad Foreign Office Consultation (FOC) was held on Thursday after a gap of nearly 15 years, according to sources in Dhaka, Islamabad, and Karachi.

The planned FOC was cancelled several times on various grounds, including diplomatic rows between the two countries following the trial of war criminals in Bangladesh.

Trade, connectivity, investment, cultural exchange, people-to-people contact, military cooperation, genocide committed by the Pakistan military during the Liberation War in 1971, repatriation of Pakistani Biharis, and distribution of properties dominated the Dhaka–Islamabad Foreign Office Consultation (FOC), sources said.

The Dhaka–Islamabad talks are important against the backdrop of the changing environment in Bangladesh and the effort to restore normal relations between Bangladesh and Pakistan, which had suffered during the last 17 years, said a senior official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who worked in Islamabad and Karachi.

Relations between the two South Asian countries reached a historic low during the last Awami League regime, spanning from 2009 to 2024, said some Bangladeshi diplomats.

The meeting was held against the backdrop of Chief Adviser of Bangladesh Professor Yunus’s meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing later this month and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the first week of this month at the BIMSTEC meeting in Bangkok.

Pakistan has been working hard to boost its relationship with Bangladesh since the departure of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 5 August 2025 through a mass movement engineered by students.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif held a meeting with Professor Muhammad Yunus, the Chief Adviser to Bangladesh’s interim government, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York last September and again at the D-8 Summit in Cairo.