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Dr. Syed Mehboob
Senior Research Editor
The News Lark, political and economic analyst
A new era of friendship, brotherhood, and closeness has begun between Pakistan and Bangladesh. Both countries’ people want to forget the bitterness of the past and want to start a new chapter of mutual understanding, cooperation, and friendship.
Pakistan and Bangladesh established diplomatic relations in 1974. It hasnot an easy relationship at that time. Bitterness was too much, and there was a distance between the hearts. The trauma of our separation, the historical grievances that led to this separation, the geopolitical complexities, and the regional hostilities in this region have all played a role in keeping our relations generally strained.
If we look back from the window of world history, we come across many examples of nations engaged in long-term war and severe conflicts that eventually made peace, moved forward, and built good relations. The European continent has had the highest number of interstate and intra-state wars on record, but today we see twenty-seven European countries closely united politically and economically in the form of the European Union. Germany and France, once worst enemies, fought against each other fiercely during World War I and World War II, are now good friends and allies, and both are active members of the European Union and cooperating. Japan and South Korea, now good friends and enjoying good relations and are economic partners, were once adversaries in World War II.
One more and very important example is the United States of America and Vietnam, which remained enemies and locked in a war for almost sixteen years. Still, they are now active economic partners and have close relations. History is replete with such examples, and the take-home lesson for us is that there is nothing to be gained by remaining stuck in the past. South African Freedom fighter and great leader Nelson Mandela said, “ Forgiveness liberates the soul, it removes fear, and that’s why it is such a powerful weapon”. So, we have to forgive, we have to forget, and the new generation of Pakistan and Bangladesh is now moving hand in hand; they love each other.
The agreement between Pakistan and Bangladesh was first proposed in 2002, but for various reasons, it did not materialize. Our main exports to Bangladesh are cotton, salt, Sulphur, cement, leather, plastics, and foodstuffs. Our imports are jute, textile fibers, and fish. Trade volume between Pakistan and Bangladesh was US$ 1 billion. Pakistan’s exports were US$ 800 million by mid 2025, while total trade, including imports, has significantly increased. Challenges like high tariffs, red tape, tedious customs procedures, lack of direct connecting routes, and difficulty with visa rules need to be addressed as apriority basis. Agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and IT offer a lot of scope for mutually beneficial trade opportunities.
As for our people-to-people relations, we are well connected as we practice the same religion and traditions, we have a shared cultural heritage, and we can easily build on this by fostering collaboration in education, such as student exchange programs, literature festivals, cultural exchanges, and joint film productions. Celebrated Bangladeshi artists like Shehnaz Begum, Shabnam, and Runa Laila are still much loved and cherished in Pakistan. Tourism is another area where we can strengthen our bonds. There are many religious sites and Sufi shrines in Pakistan that can attract tourists from Bangladesh. Biswa Ijtema of Tablighi Jamaat is a source of attraction for many Pakistanis who want to attend this Ijtema.
There are many historic mosques there for us to visit, like the famous Sixty Dome Mosque, which is a UNESCO heritage site, the iconic Tara Masjid of Dhaka, and the famous Sufi saint Shah Jalal’s masjid in Sylhet. In Pakistan,Badshahi Masjid Lahore, Tooba and Memon Masjids in Karachi, are a source of attraction for religious tourism.
Cricket is another source of attraction, and both Bangladeshi and Pakistani people like and are crazy about this game. A bilateral cricket series can bring these two countries closer. Pakistani dramas are very popular in Bangladesh, and there must be some joint production in both the Urdu and Bangla languages. , one soul, one nation.
Not only in the textile industry, but there are a few more industries in which Pakistan has invested in Bangladesh in areas where even the Bangladeshi businesspeople don’t think of investing. Like one of the industries, that is in the Nilfamari Export Processing Zone ( NEPZ), which is at the far north corner of Bangladesh. Here, Pakistani industrialists produce starch from potatoes at almost throwawayprices during the season, and they never faced an electricity supply problem.
There are a number of Pakistani students who are getting medical education in Bangladesh on scholarship, and since last year, Pakistan has also started giving scholarships to Bangladeshi students. This year, there was a conference of great poets, Allama Muhammad Iqbal and Kazi Narul Islam, in Dhaka University, which was well attended, and dozens of articles and research papers were presented there by scholars from many parts of the world. There was an MoU was signed between the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BAR) and the Pakistan Agriculture. These two institutions are now working together to collaborate in the agriculture sector. Roona Laila’s elder sister is married in Pakistan, and she might be well-received here. Hum TV wanted to start Masala TV Channel in Bangladesh. Alamgir, who is a very popular Pakistani singer, has Bengali origins. Roona Laila and Alamgir can bring people of both countries closer.
Pakistan and Bangladesh also have very good defense relations. These relations are going upwards. After eleven years, the Bangladeshi National Defense College visited Pakistan.
Two Bangladeshi NGOs were working in Pakistan. One in the development sector was the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Corporation (BARC) and ASHA working in micro-finance and micro credit. ASHA is still working through its Pakistani friends. Bangladesh’s Muhammad Yunus set an example in microfinance and received the Nobel Prize. Similarly, Pakistan’s Dr Amjad Saqib, for the first time in the history of the modern world, started Microfinance purely on a non-interest basis, and his model was studied by the UNO, Harvard University, and he was nominated for the Nobel Prize.
The young population of both countries is the real strength of both countries. There must be an exchange of the youth delegation, enabling them to know each other’s culture and common values.
Direct flights between Pakistan and Bangladesh resumed on 29 January 2026 after a fourteen-year break, with Biman Bangladesh Airlines operating flights between Dhaka and Karachi. The service aims to boost trade and reconnect families of both countries. Direct flights reduced the time and cost of travelling from Bangladesh to Karachi and Karachi to Bangladesh.
Intermarriages between Pakistani and Bangladeshi youth are also witnessed, and they are connecting Bangladeshi and Pakistani families. If Pakistan and Bangladesh join hands, they can together change the fate of the 400 million people, as they can cooperate to eradicate poverty, hunger, unemployment, extremism, and terrorism, as both are followers of Islam, which means peace, and there is no discrimination based on caste, class, or color. Ulemas and religious scholars can promote peace and cooperation between the people of the two brotherly countries.
There is a need for Pakistan and Bangladesh to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and the Chambers of Commerce of both countries join hands to enhance trade relations, as the potential of bilateral trade is far more than the present one, which could be more than US$ 10 billion in a few years.
I, as the Senior Research Editor the News Lark, pledge my commitment to do all possible efforts to promote Pakistan-Bangladesh Friendship, and our Chief Editor and CEO, Mr. Jawed Ahmed Malik, is on the same page with me, and the News Lark’s pages are dedicated to this noble cause.
