Bangladesh Ties Major Defence Deal with Pakistan amid rising Anti-India sentiment.

MAJOR PAKISTAN DEAL UPGRADES BANGLADESH’S DEFENSE CAPABILITY, MOVING TOWARDS A COMMON REGIONAL THEATER

Bangladesh is getting massive consignments of materials from Pakistan, which would alter the general power play of the region altogether.

The consignment, which is to be delivered in three installments from September to December 2024, is outright bulky, with components such as 40,000 rounds of ammunition, 2,000 units of tank ammunition, 40 tons of RDX explosive in wax consistency, and 2,900 high-intensity projectiles.

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This is a large increase over previous orders and reflects Bangladesh’s determination to strengthen its defenses under its new dispensation.

Details of the Defense Shipment

• Supplier: The materials for defense will be supplied through state-owned defense contractor Pakistan Ordnance Factory.
• Breakup of Shipments: In fact, the General Manager of Exports kept in mind while issuing a letter to this effect that these will be delivered to different divisions, including those of Havelian, Sanjwal, and Gadwal.
• Strategic Impact: The procurement easily boosts defense preparedness of Bangladesh and is thus reflective of a strategic reshuffle of the military power in this country.

In a Strategic Word. Bangladesh is a growing

This military procurement is aside from a broader policy of boosting Bangladesh’s military capacity, in view of the caretaker government.

The larger volume of the shipment than the relatively small order for 12,000 rounds of ammunition last year testifies to a clear intent to fortify national defense.

That these materials are made in Pakistan, a country with whom Bangladesh has always had complex relations, lends a layer of geopolitical significance to the deal.

Political Transition in Bangladesh

The negotiation comes in the wake of huge political transition in Bangladesh.

The country has had unrest and only recently settled after heavy protests and subsequent resignation of the long-ruling Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina.

The unhappy affair, whose roots lay in the stirrings over reforms in quotas that began in July 2024, transformed into a much broader ant-Government protest, and eventually forced Hasina to step down on August 5, 2024.

New Leadership Under Muhammad Yunus

An interim government was immediately set up with Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as president.

Internationally acclaimed as the founder of microfinance, Yunus is being regarded as a neutral president to cheer about for now.

People in and outside the country have expressed cautious hope that he may lead the effort to start political and economic rehabilitation.

New Directed to the Turning Point in Bangladesh-Pakistan Relations

The change at the top has lessened the acrimony in Islamabad.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif is eager to remove all the thorns and believes in making relations with Islamabad see an upward trajectory.

The ties with Pakistan had been strained during the Hasina regime as her country’s former tormentor was looked at with skepticism because of the historical antipathy towards Bangladesh and a posture of creeping annexation.

But the rise of Yunus has brought in fresh hope for change and a draft defense deal.

Rising Anti-India Sentiment

This cannot come at a more opportune time, as anti-India sentiment has reached a fever pitch of late in Bangladesh because of major floods locals there say were caused by an alleged release of dam water from Tripura, India.

Hundreds of Bangladeshi visa applicants demonstrated in Satkhira outside the Indian Visa Application Centre in protest against the delay in processing endoporoses.

Implications for India-Bangladesh Relations

Simultaneously, the government focuses on mutual assurances in order to keep up the strong bilateral relations because even under Yunus, the two prime ministers have had decent talks and want to work together in order to enhance cooperation and mutual relationship.

Besides, Touhid Hossain, a Foreign Affairs Advisor in Bangladesh also reiterated that the government will work closely with its allies and business partners, among which India is one of the nearest and most potential in the region.

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