The Bangladesh defence forces are pulling out all stops to forge extensive and intensive ties with the Pakistani military establishment even as a team of Bangladesh Army officers is scheduled to leave for Rawalpindi on November 3 to take part in the first ever ‘army-to-army staff talk’ between the two countries.
While this is a sign of the rapid strengthening and mainstreaming of military ties between Bangladesh and Pakistan, the relationship between the armed forces of the two countries – the former emerged following the ‘dismemberment’ of the latter in 1971 – took a clear direction with the October 24-28 visit to Dhaka of General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pakistan Army.
The Bangladesh military top brass not only laid out the red carpet for Gen Mirza and three of his subordinates but also hosted him for a day at the sensitive Sylhet Cantonment where the Bangladesh Army’s 17th Infantry Division is based.
During his four-day visit, Gen Mirza met Chief Adviser Mohammad Yunus, National Security Adviser (NSA) Khalilur Rahman, Army chief Gen Waker-uz-Zaman, Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan, Navy chief Admiral Mohammad Nazmul Hassan, Principal Staff Officer, Armed Forced Division, Lt Gen S M Kamrul Hassan.
Suffice it to say that Lt Gen Hassan was the first and senior-most Bangladesh general to lead a team of officers to Rawalpindi on January 11, 2025.
This was followed by the visit to Dhaka of a three-member Pakistan ISI team of officers later the same month.
Since then, at least three separate teams of Pakistan Army officers have visited Bangladesh.
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Information accessed by Northeast News reveal that the Bangladesh Army team, which will be in Rawalpindi between November 3 and 7, will be led by Maj Gen Mohammad Masudur Rahman, the Adjutant General, a lieutenant colonel and two majors.
The visitors’ expenses during their stay at Rawalpindi will be borne by the Pakistan Army.
The main force for the Bangladesh military’s deepening engagement with the Pakistan defence establishment is the Armed Forces Division which is under the Chief Adviser’s office.
The AFD head, Lt Gen Kamrul Hassan, is a votary of not only rebuilding military ties with Pakistan but he has been instrumental in pursuing a policy aimed at rapid procurement of defence hardware.
