(MENAFN) Pakistan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, met with Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on Saturday to discuss expanding cooperation in trade, investment, and defense. The talks signal a warming of relations between the two countries following the political transition in Dhaka last year, when former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned amid youth-led protests.

According to statements from both governments, Mirza emphasized Pakistan’s interest in deepening collaboration across multiple sectors and highlighted the potential for increased trade and connectivity. “Our two countries will support each other,” he told Yunus, noting that a two-way shipping route between Karachi and Chittagong is already operational, with a Dhaka-Karachi air route expected to launch in the coming months.

In August, Pakistan and Bangladesh signed six cooperation agreements designed to broaden bilateral engagement, including provisions for visa-free travel for diplomats and government officials. Mirza’s visit marks the highest-level Pakistani trip to Dhaka in years and comes after Sheikh Hasina, widely considered pro-India, left office in August 2024.

The meeting also sparked controversy in India after Yunus reportedly presented Mirza with a gift featuring a map allegedly depicting parts of northeast India as Bangladeshi territory. India has not yet formally responded but had previously lodged a strong protest last year over a similar map circulated online.

Since Yunus assumed leadership, Dhaka has shifted its focus away from New Delhi, seeking to strengthen ties with Pakistan while continuing to address the legacy of the 1971 Liberation War.

That conflict, which resulted in millions of deaths, led to Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan. Dhaka has historically sought a formal apology from Pakistan for atrocities committed during the war, while Pakistan has previously expressed that it “condemned and deeply regretted” any crimes that may have occurred.

The political transition in Dhaka has also prompted renewed scrutiny of the war’s legacy. Local reports indicate that in the first week following the change of government, over 1,400 sculptures, murals, and reliefs across 59 districts—including more than 600 at the Mujibnagar Memorial Complex—were vandalized, burned, or removed. Freedom-fighter veterans and historians have expressed concern, warning that the physical destruction and revision of historical narratives signal a significant shift in how Bangladesh is commemorating its independence.

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