The ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from power has brought forth an opportunity for a paradigm shift in the ties between Pakistan and Bangladesh which remained frozen during the 15-year-long rule of the Awami League. High-level contacts between Islamabad and Dhaka for mending fences got a boost when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote a letter to Dr Muhammad Yunus, the Chief Adviser of the caretaker government in Bangladesh, and then telephoned him as well. The two sides examined the need to promote trade, travel and economic ties as well as people-to-people contacts.

According to reports, Prime Minister Shehbaz also called a meeting of former senior diplomats to do some brainstorming on how to go about the situation emerging in Bangladesh in the wake of the August 5, 2024 regime change, particularly in view of the surging anti-India rhetoric there. However, Islamabad's efforts for bettering ties with Bangladesh have failed to elicit reciprocity. Perhaps, the caretaker government of Dr Yunus is more focused on dealing with the internal fault lines related to the economy, governance, protection of religious minorities and demands for Sheikh Hasina's trial for her alleged involvement in the extra-judicial killings and the massacre of students during the anti-government protests.

What is intriguing in the post-Hasina period is the contact between Pakistan and Bangladesh on defence equipment. According to reports, "Just three weeks after Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and a new interim government was installed, Dhaka has ordered for........

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