For almost four days, the Bangladesh armed forces and their respective officer corps swooned over their Pakistani guests — General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, his spouse and three other subordinate colleagues.
The Bangladeshi hosts pulled out all stops: the hospitality accorded was the finest; the gifts given were the choicest.
Gen Mirza arrived in Dhaka late on October 24 night, accompanied by two other Pakistan Army majors a Navy commodore, on an official visit.
But at the time of the departure of the once-foes-now-turned-friends on October 28 evening, a sour note left a bad taste in the mouths of the guests and the hosts.
A dummy assault rifle gifted by Bangladesh’s Principal Staff Officer in the Armed Forces Division, Lieutenant General S M Kamrul Hassan, to Gen Mirza was discovered at the CIP (Commercially Important Person) gate of the departure section of Dhaka’s Hazrat Shah Jalal International Airport around 6 pm on October 28.
Gen Mirza and the Pakistan defence officers were scheduled to leave for Pakistan via Dubai on Emirates Airlines flight number EK-587 on October 28 evening.
Gen Mirza, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, is the second-most powerful Army officer in Pakistan after Field Marshal Gen Asim Munir.
Bangladesh security service sources disclosed that a “heavy luggage” was located among the visitors’ baggage at the CIP gate. This piece of luggage came up on the electronic scanner screen.
It was found wrapped in gift package. When the package was removed, a souvenir rifle emerged. Inquiries with the two accompanying Pakistan Army major rank officers revealed that Lt Gen Hassan had gifted the dummy rifle to Gen Mirza during their meeting on October 26.
The souvenir item was a 7.62 mm bore BD-08 rifle without the firing pin.
Neither the Bangladeshi hosts nor the Pakistani guests had notified the airport authorities in advance about the presence of the gift.
