As the Bangladesh civil and military authorities’ ties with the United States’ security establishment continue to deepen, the country’s Army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman will undertake a five-day visit to the US for a conference on mutual interests with his hosts.
Gen Zaman, Bangladesh Army sources said, will also take part in the Land Forces Pacific (LANPAC) Symposium and Exposition-25 in Honolulu, Hawaii, between May 13 and 15.
Gen Zaman is expected to meet key US Army officers ahead of the Arakan Army’s military offensive against the Myanmar military junta.
However, Pakistan High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Syed Ahmed Maroof’s departure for Cox’s Bazar on May 8, followed by a visit to the Kutupalong Rohingya camp and offering of ‘jummah’ prayers with some Rohingya leaders is being considered significant in the context of the controversy generated by the proposed establishment of a ‘humanitarian corridor’ for the refugees’ so-called repatriation to Myanmar.
This is the third time in four months that Maroof has visited Cox’s Bazar.
The last time he was there, with two other Pakistani high commission officials, was on February 6 and 7 when he met leaders of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and the Jamaat-e-Islami amir.
A previous meeting between Pakistani high commission officials and ARSA representatives was held in January 2025.
This meeting followed the Bangladesh DGFI’s initiation of “specialised” guerrilla warfare training to select groups of Rohingya refugees living in the Kutupalong area of Cox’s Bazar, as part of a broader strategy to counter potential attacks by the Arakan Army.
Bangladesh’s Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) had initiated a few months ago “specialised” guerrilla warfare training for select groups of Rohingya refugees living in the Kutupalong area of Cox’s Bazar, as part of a broader strategy to counter potential attacks by the Arakan Army.
The decision to provide this training, which included the use of weapons and intelligence gathering, was finalised during a meeting between DGFI officers and Rohingya representatives on January 19 at the 1W refugee camp in the Ukhia sub-district of Cox’s Bazar.
At a time when the Mohammd Yunus-led interim authority has been trying to establish a so-called ‘humanitarian corridor’ to push out supplies to the Arakan Army for its offensive against the Myanmar military junta, the Pakistani diplomat’s visit to Cox’s Bazar will raise the hackles of the Indian security establishment.
There are reports that the Arakan Army has been undertaking “tough” measures against Rohingya refugees seeking to enter Bangladeshi territory as a consequence of unleashing episodic violence against men and women seeking to enter areas in Cox’s Bazar.
This has brought into question the efficacy of a ‘humanitarian corridor’ which is largely being seen essentially as a “cover” for the cross-border shipment of “non-lethal” and “lethal” supplies to the Arakan Army with the full backing of the Bangladesh Army backed solidly by the US military.
Bangladeshi officials said the Pakistani high commissioner’s ongoing visit, which is being said to be conducted “unusually secretively” and without prior declaration before the Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Ministry, “indicates coordinated efforts” aimed at “activating” the ARSA and other pro-Pakistan elements for “potential political or security-related activities”.
