The top general of the Pakistani army is on a four-day trip to Dhaka. Leading the Pakistani delegation is Lieutenant General Tabassum Habib, Director General of Joint Staff at the Pakistani military headquarters, who arrived in Dhaka on October 6 and will be there until October 9. Bangladesh rolled out the 'red carpet' to welcome this Pakistani General, referring to the visit as a 'Goodwill Visit', but this goodwill visit holds deeper meaning for India.
Since a change in the Bangladeshi government, Pakistan has been working to forge ties with this erstwhile adversary. General Tabassum Habib's visit represents the highest-level military trip from Pakistan following the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government in August 2024.
It is believed that General Tabassum Habib's visit extends the regional military diplomacy of the Yunus government. Bangladesh presents this as an assertion of its strategic autonomy. The General, who arrived in Dhaka on October 6, will remain there until October 9, meeting with high-ranking Bangladeshi military officials. The Bangladeshi media has largely kept this visit under wraps, providing minimal information.
The new administration in Dhaka is not concealing its military ambitions, highlighting tensions in relations with India while strengthening ties with China and Pakistan. The new Bangladeshi government is striving to reduce Indian influence and eyeing an 'India-free' foreign policy. Enhancing military cooperation with Pakistan, China, and Turkey aims to fortify this policy.
Sources indicate that during this visit, Lieutenant General Habib and his team are engaging in discussions with senior members of the Bangladeshi armed forces and key figures within the nation's intelligence network. Dialogues are reportedly centered around intelligence sharing, joint counter-terrorism efforts, and regional security collaboration.
This visit provides Pakistan with an opportunity for strategic involvement in Eastern India and the Bay of Bengal, prompting India to reassess its diplomatic and security strategies.
A primary goal of the visit is to enhance regional security, counter-terrorism strategies, and intelligence sharing, aiming to reshape military relations between the two nations. There are talks about enhancing cooperation between the ISI and DGFI (Bangladesh Military Intelligence) during Pakistan-Bangladesh military dialogues, said to be part of efforts to counterbalance India.
The relationship between Bangladesh and Pakistan is deeply rooted in strategic interests. The level of foreign trade between the two is minimal. In 2024, the total bilateral trade was merely 865 million USD, with Pakistan exports accounting for 778 million USD while Bangladeshi exports ranged between 57-87 million USD.
Therefore, their growing closeness is more strategic than commercial, as both countries easily align against India.
General Tabassum Habib's visit is taking place under the aegis of the Armed Forces Division (AFD) of the Bangladesh Army, led by Lieutenant General S M Kamrul Hasan, who had led a delegation of Bangladeshi military officers on a visit to Pakistan in January 2025.
Following this visit, a three-member team of Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officials, led by a Major General, arrived in Dhaka before touring some border areas in Bangladesh. Since then, at least two other teams of Pakistani military officials have conducted discreet visits to Bangladesh.
