Bangladesh Pakistan ties: What Dhaka’s interest in Saudi Türkiye defence pact means for India

The development marks a striking shift in South Asian geopolitics. It also presents a new challenge for India, which has traditionally enjoyed much closer strategic and security ties with Bangladesh than Pakistan has. What has Bangladesh said? Humayun Kabir, foreign affairs adviser to Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, has said Dhaka has a positive approach towards potentially joining an economic or defence framework involving Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye. Kabir stressed that Bangladesh’s policy is guided by a “Bangladesh First” approach and that Dhaka is pursuing a balanced foreign policy based on national interests. He also said Bangladesh was strengthening…