Pakistan Cargo Vessels in Bangladesh Without Manual Inspection
Yunus regime restored close ties between Bangladesh and Pakistan
Hussain Muhammad Imam
The recent maritime ties between Bangladesh and Pakistan have sparked tensions among South Asian countries, particularly in India and among Bangladeshis. After 53 years of Bangladesh independence, a Pakistani cargo vessel arrived at Chittagong on November 12 and departed on November 13 after discharging containers.
Bangladesh-Pakistan relations were strained during the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and experts said that it was under the carpet. After August 5, the Yunus government re-established a close relationship with Pakistan, welcomed the direct maritime link, and anticipated increased trade volume with Pakistan. Syed Ahmed Maruf, Pakistan’s High Commissioner in Bangladesh, met with Finance Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed on September 1.
According to the National Board of Revenue (NBR), Pakistani cargo vessels would enter Bangladesh without undergoing manual inspection. On September 29, the Bangladesh government’s Customs Automation Wing issued a notification on the product checking of Pakistani cargo vessels. Before that notification, all of the country’s products were inspected manually.
Walid Hossain and Mohammad Russell, customs Officers at the Chittagong port, were allegedly relocated because they wanted to inspect goods from Pakistan.
According to Chittagong port sources, the Yuan Xiang Fa Zhan ship arrived carrying 370 containers. 297 containers were shipped from Pakistan’s Karachi port, while 73 containers came from the UAE. The matter was confirmed in a news release issued by the Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka on November 13. They verified, “A direct cargo ship from Karachi arrived at Chittagong port, marking the first direct sea link between the two countries.” This travel demonstrates the increasing need for direct trade between the two countries.”
Pakistan has been unable to access Bangladesh’s two largest ports, Chittagong and Mongla, for about fifty years, according to Syed Mohammad Arif, president of the Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association. Singapore or Colombo used to be the transhipments hub for trade between the two countries. He noted that Pakistan’s trade volume is small, below $800 million in 2023, according to the NBR.
According to Devadeep Purohit of Telegraph India, this direct maritime connectivity has raised concerns in India’s security establishment. Experts believe that weapons and ammunition could be smuggled to Bangladesh and transferred to insurgent organizations in India. During the BNP-Jamaat alliance led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, ten trucks of weapons were seized in Chittagong in 2004, which remains the most significant widespread capture of illegal weapons in South Asia. The Indian authority has been cautious regarding the sea passages connecting the Chittagong and Mongla ports.
Devadeep further revealed that “In an operation by Pakistan spy agency ISI, about 1,500 Chinese ammunition, worth an estimated $4.5-to-7 million, reached Chittagong via the sea route. The majority of these shipments, however, were intercepted before they could reach their intended beneficiaries – the outlawed militant band Ulfa in Assam.”
In addition, the Bangladesh Navy has confirmed its participation in Aman 2025, an international naval exercise held in Pakistan. “This is Bangladesh’s first time participating in the combined drill…. A frigate left for Pakistan last month for this purpose. “These developments must concern India because it may face new challenges in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean,” warned a Bangladeshi expert.
Journalist Ajay Banerjee stated on Tribune India that “the new interim government has ordered a fresh supply of artillery ammunition from Pakistan after the overthrow of the Hasina administration.”
He further stated that Indian intelligence had previously told the authorities that Bangladesh had ordered Pakistan for thousands of rounds of ammunition to be sent in three tranches.
Defense Pakistan On August 29, tweeted on its X handle that ‘Most Urgent,’ 40 thousand rounds of long-range artillery shells, 40 tons of RDX, and 2900 high-intensity projectiles were being delivered to Bangladesh.
The Indian security agencies verified that the demonstrations in Bangladesh that resulted in PM Sheikh Hasina’s removal on August 5 were supported by Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing, Islami chatra Shibir, as well as other fundamentalists and militant groups such as Hizbut Tahrir. Foreign intelligence was organized and funded that plot.
Based on previous instances in 2004, there is a widespread suspicion among Bangladeshis and Indians that these weapons will be delivered to Bangladesh’s radical terrorists and rebel groups to destabilize India’s ‘seven sisters.’ The general public, secular forces, and Awami League leaders, activists, and supporters are concerned about Bangladesh’s security, peace, stability, and sovereignty.
That distrust has grown after thousands of convicted militants stormed into jail cells and looted firearms from 450 police stations on August 5. This supposition has sparked joy among Bangladesh’s Islamists and insurgents, and unlike the Hasina administration, the Yunus government is sympathetic to them. This extremist outfit regards India as its ‘forever enemy’ and a ‘friend of Pakistan.’ They believe in ‘Ghazwatul Hind,’ in which Muslims will fight with other religions in the Indian subcontinent and triumph.
Furthermore, Nahid Islam, the leader of the anti-discrimination student movement and adviser to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, stated, “They planned an armed battle before August 5.” Now, folks are wondering where they can find arms.
Another student leader and adviser for the Ministry of LGED, Youth, and Sports, Asif Mahmud, made similar remarks a few days ago. He continued, “If the July movement (an anti-government protest against Sheikh Hasina) had failed, they would have taken up arms. The armed struggle is still on their agenda for those who want to see them fail.”
People and anti-Yunus government activists and sympathizers believe there is a link between direct sea relations with Pakistan and the potential for an arms conflict.
Bangladesh has had a complex political and historical relationship with Pakistan since 1947. This situation is increasing regional sensitivity to security and peace.
Even if we say it’s a rumor based on diverse facts in Bangladesh, India will not take this matter lightly because the NBR has issued a statement allowing Pakistani vessels to enter Bangladesh without manual inspection.
How will India respond to the Yunus government’s increased connections with Pakistan? Will South Asia become the next battleground for global actors?
EU Bureau Chief, The Voice