Amid the widespread unrest, questions about Bangladesh’s sovereignty are once again making headlines. Is Pakistan trying to exert influence over Bangladesh? Is it going to annex Bangladesh? Is the country becoming a puppet of Pakistan? These concerns have intensified in recent days. On Thursday, India responded by closing its visa centers in Rajshahi and Khulna cities of Bangladesh after supporters of the Sheikh Hasina government staged protests outside the Indian Assistant High Commissions in both locations.
ISI cell in Dhaka, what does Pakistan really want?
According to a report published on governancenow.com, Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) presence in Bangladesh is increasing day by day. In fact, last month, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Pakistan had visited Dhaka. During the visit, Dhaka reportedly allowed Islamabad to appoint intelligence officers to its High Commission in Bangladesh, which is being seen as a significant development in the ISI's presence there.
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Pakistan-Bangladesh intelligence network active
Reacting on the incident, India's well-known strategic and security expert Brahma Chellaney emphasised that defense and intelligence cooperation between Islamabad and Dhaka could have significant implications for India. Chellaney wrote on X, “Since last year's regime change in Dhaka, Bangladesh and Pakistan have quietly stepped up defense and intelligence cooperation — a trend with significant implications for India. Reports of an ISI–DGFI Joint Intelligence Mechanism, including an ISI cell operating in Dhaka, point to an emerging security nexus, with the two sides also discussing joint military exercises, training and capacity-building.”
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He added, “What makes this development particularly consequential is the shadow of Beijing. With China already tied to Pakistan through a strategic alliance and wielding growing influence in Bangladesh, the outlines of a nascent Pakistan-Bangladesh-China alignment may be beginning to take shape.”
How big is the threat?
According to reports, the two countries have agreed to establish a joint intelligence-sharing and cooperation framework aimed at monitoring the Bay of Bengal and the airspace bordering India's eastern front. This development signals an emerging security alliance between Bangladesh and Pakistan, while a major shift in the military-level relations between the two countries is evident through their decision to conduct joint military exercises, training, and capacity-building initiatives.
Meanwhile, speaking to ANI, former Indian diplomat Veena Sikri levelled major allegations against Pakistan. She stated that Pakistan's biggest conduit in Bangladesh is the Jamaat-e-Islami, and Islamabad is certainly aiming to gain a foothold within the Bangladesh Army.
“We do know that the regime change operation was supported by external powers, by the Western powers, but it was done through Pakistan. It was done through Pakistan and Pakistan's biggest conduit in Bangladesh is the Jamaat-e-Islami. The Jamaat-e-Islami is acting at the behest of Pakistan. So this is their plan. Pakistan's first effort in Bangladesh is to try and embed themselves with the Bangladesh army,” Sikri said.