In a marked shift from more than a decade of strained relations, Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to Pakistan, Iqbal Hussain Khan, announced on Sunday (2 November 2025) that ties between Dhaka and Islamabad have improved “at every level.”
He told an event in Karachi that Bangladesh now processes Pakistani visas for Bangladeshi citizens within 24 hours — a signal of warming diplomatic engagement.
Khan stressed that the momentum should extend beyond diplomacy into tangible transport and trade infrastructure.
“Due to the Indian air-space ban on Pakistani flights it is difficult for passengers from Bangladesh to get direct flights from Dhaka to Pakistani cities,” he said, adding that talks are underway with Pakistani authorities to establish “direct flights without hassles” between the two countries.
He also emphasised that a dedicated maritime link between Karachi in Pakistan and Chittagong (Chattogram) in Bangladesh would significantly reduce freight transit time and unlock new trade possibilities.
A backdrop of historical friction
Relations between Bangladesh and Pakistan reached a low point in the decade following Bangladesh’s 2010 trial of collaborators of Pakistani troops during the 1971 Liberation War. During the government of Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League, bilateral engagement was limited and freight links were minimal.
The political turn in Bangladesh on 5 August 2024, when the interim government supported by the army and Islamist factions replaced Sheikh Hasina’s administration, opened a fresh phase of regional diplomacy. With the new government in place, Bangladesh appears to be exploring broader options for regional alignment and trade diversification.
