India watches with caution as Pakistan and Bangladesh reset ties

Relations began warming noticeably after ex-PM Hasina's govt was toppled in 2024

- Debarshi Dasgupta

NEW DELHI - The Indian government is already caught in a bind over its souring ties with the United States, its largest trading partner. Now India has another reason to feel nervous: a thaw in ties between Pakistan and Bangladesh, India's neighbour to the east.

Relations between Islamabad and Dhaka have long been strained, even hostile because of a difficult past.

Once part of the same country, the two nations went through a violent separation in 1971 when Bangladesh won its independence from Pakistan.

Ties between the two countries have since been bedevilled by the bitter legacy of Bangladesh's Liberation War, especially during former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's time in office, because of the Pakistani military's and supporting militias' horrific crackdown on Bangladeshi nationalists, including through mass murder and rape.

In the past year, though, ties have warmed considerably since a student-led uprising forced Ms Hasina to flee the country, ushering in an administration that is unencumbered by her regime's widely perceived anti-Pakistan outlook.

On Aug 24, Mr Ishaq Dar, Pakistan's deputy prime minister and foreign minister, concluded a two-day visit to Dhaka, becoming the most senior Pakistani official to land in Bangladesh in 13 years and adding further momentum to the rapprochement between Dhaka and Islamabad.

Mr Dar, who earlier in 2025 had described Bangladesh as Pakistan's "long-lost brother", arrived with goodwill gestures. This included 600 scholarships for Bangladeshi students and civil servants, as well as a limb replacement offer for 40 individuals injured during the 2024 anti-Hasina uprising.

Both nations announced a clutch of deals, including one on visa-free travel for their diplomats and officials, and the creation of a joint working group to enhance bilateral trade from the current low of around US$865 million (S$1.11 billion), particularly in sectors such as textiles and agriculture.