Dhaka: ISI chief Lt Gen Asim Malik is visiting Bangladesh, marking the first such visit by a head of Pakistan’s intelligence agency to Dhaka in decades that comes in the wake of Sheikh Hasina’s ouster as prime minister and strained ties with India over atrocities on Hindu minorities and the arrest of ISKCON monk Chinmay Krishna Das.
Malik, who arrived in Dhaka via Dubai on Tuesday, was reportedly welcomed by Lt Gen Muhammad Faizur Rahman, Quarter Master General (QMG) of the Bangladesh Army. Reports allege Rahman has close ties with Islamist groups and Pakistan, Economic Times has reported.
The report claims the purpose of Malik’s visit is to establish an intelligence-sharing network between the two countries’ agencies, purportedly to facilitate cross-border subversive activities aimed at destabilising India.
Recently, Lt Gen SM Kamr-ul-Hassan, Principal Staff Officer (PSO) of the Armed Forces Division of Bangladesh and the second-in-command of the Bangladeshi Army, visited Islamabad. During his trip, he held separate meetings with Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, Gen Syed Asim Munir, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza. According to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), discussions focused on emerging security challenges and enhancing bilateral military cooperation.
Without explicitly naming India, both generals stressed the importance of a “stronger defence relationship,” highlighting that the enduring partnership between Pakistan and Bangladesh must withstand “external influences.”
Relations between Dhaka and Islamabad have been strained for much of the 54 years since Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan.
The tensions deepened during the nearly 16-year tenure of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted from office in August following mass protests and later fled to India, which had backed her government.
Since Hasina’s departure, Pakistan and Bangladesh appear to be moving towards a rapprochement. This shift comes amid a shared anti-India sentiment in both countries, overshadowing their historical animosities.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif recently met Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, at an international summit in Cairo. The two leaders had previously held discussions in September on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
