Within a span of six months, South Asia’s geopolitical landscape has undergone profound changes. Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s removal from power in August was followed by the conclusion of a border agreement between China and India in October and the Indian foreign secretary meeting the Afghan foreign minister in Dubai last month. Each of these developments signal shifting geopolitical alignments across the region.
In Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina had been a key regional partner for India. Her departure has prompted New Delhi’s long-time adversary Pakistan to make inroads into the country.
Evidence of this can be seen with Dhaka’s announcement of a relaxation of visa rules for Pakistani nationals, the establishment of direct sea links between the ports of Karachi and Chittagong, and an easing of trade restrictions between both countries. This month, Bangladesh is set to participate in Pakistan’s Aman naval exercise in Karachi.
Underpinning this rapprochement is a string of high-level exchanges between Dhaka and Islamabad. This includes a visit to Bangladesh by Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar this month and the head of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency Asim Malik last month. This follows several meetings between Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
While it would be too simplistic to view Dhaka’s relations with New Delhi and Islamabad in zero-sum terms, these developments signify a shift in Bangladesh’s foreign relations.
In particular, it represents a change of fortune for Islamabad, which had long been seen in a negative light following Bangladesh’s bloody secession from Pakistan in 1971. Under the Hasina government, opposition parties such as Jamaat-e-Islami came under scrutiny for their historically close connections to Pakistan. Now those same groups are part of, or are supporting, Bangladesh’s interim government.