Direct flights after 14 yrs, a possible fighter jet deal: Bangladesh, Pakistan moving closer amid strain with India

Rapid rapprochement between Dhaka and Islamabad follows fall of Sheikh Hasina, considered pro-India, in August 2024 after protests led by students

Updated on: Jan 31, 2026, 14:32:00 IST

Written by Aarish Chhabra

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In what can be seen as a shift in the South Asian geopolitical landscape, Bangladesh and Pakistan have officially resumed direct air connectivity after a 14-year hiatus, marking a major thaw in a relationship that was frosty over the past few years and violently antagonistic for decades in general.

A plane of Biman Bangladesh Airlines is seen after landing at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi on January 30, 2026. Direct flights between Bangladesh and Pakistan resumed after more than a decade, as ties warm between the two nations that have long had an uneasy relationship. (Asif Hassan/AFP Photo)

The resumption of passenger flights comes coupled with high-level talks regarding a potential multi-million defence deal.

It must be noted that the rapid rapprochement between Dhaka and Islamabad follows the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government, considered pro-India, in August 2024 after protests led by students. Hasina, sentenced to death by a court in Bangladesh since, is in exile in India, while an interim regime led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus is prepping to hold elections next month with her party banned.

‘Water salute’ in Karachi

The Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight from Dhaka touched down at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi on Thursday, where it was greeted with a traditional water salute.

This landing ended a gap in direct operations that had persisted since 2012.

The Pakistan Airport Authority (PAA) hailed the event as the start of a "new chapter in Pakistan-Bangladesh friendship".

Bangladesh's national carrier will operate non-stop flights twice a week, on Thursdays and Saturdays.

The flight from Dhaka is scheduled to depart at 8:00 pm local time, arriving in Karachi at 11:00 pm. The return flight departs Karachi at midnight and reaches Dhaka at 4:20 am.

Initially, these operations are running under a provisional licence valid until March 30, a trial period intended to determine the long-term viability.

Fighter jet deal: JF-17s for Bangladesh?

In further closeness, Pakistan has formally offered its JF-17 Thunder fighter jets to Bangladesh, a multi-role combat aircraft jointly developed by China and Pakistan.

Talks regarding this potential procurement were held recently in Islamabad between Pakistan's Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu and his Bangladeshi counterpart, Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan.

According to military statements, Islamabad has also assured Dhaka of fast-tracked delivery of Super Mushshak trainer aircraft, alongside a comprehensive training and support ecosystem.

This strategic pivot comes at a time when Pakistan is expanding its defence exports, having recently finalised a $4 billion deal with the Libyan National Army and engaging in talks with Azerbaijan.

What it means for India

The warmth between the two nations, which were once together as East and West Pakistan with India in the middle, holds meaning for New Delhi.

Muhammad Yunus's interim government has actively sought to diversify its foreign policy and rebuild ties with Islamabad. The first major sign of this shift occurred in August 2024, when Pakistani foreign minister Ishaq Dar visited Dhaka, marking the first high-level engagement between the two countries in more than 10 years.

While Pakistan and Bangladesh move closer, India’s ties with both remain frosty. A point of contention remains the flight path for the new Dhaka-Karachi route. The shortest path between the two cities lies through central Indian airspace. According to reports, it remains unclear whether Biman Bangladesh Airlines has secured the necessary overflight permissions from New Delhi. For now, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority has approved the use of designated air corridors within Pakistani airspace for the Bangladeshi airline.

Furthermore, private Pakistani airlines, including Fly Jinnah and AirSial, have also received approval from Bangladeshi authorities to operate direct flights, suggesting that the connectivity boom is only just beginning.

For Pakistan, the potential sale of JF-17s is a chance to prove the jet's capabilities, which Islamabad claims were demonstrated during past conflicts, including when India carried out Operation Sindoor in May last year against Pak-based terror outfits.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aarish Chhabra
Aarish Chhabra is an Associate Editor with the Hindustan Times online team, writing news reports and explanatory articles, besides overseeing coverage for the website. His career spans nearly two decades across India's most respected newsrooms in print, digital, and broadcast. He has reported, written, and edited across formats — from breaking news and live election coverage, to analytical long-reads and cultural commentary — building a body of work that reflects both editorial rigour and a deep curiosity about the society he writes for. Aarish studied English literature, sociology and history, besides journalism, at Panjab University, Chandigarh, and started his career in that city, eventually moving to Delhi. He is also the author of ‘The Big Small Town: How Life Looks from Chandigarh’, a collection of critical essays originally serialised as a weekly column in the Hindustan Times, examining the culture and politics of a city that is far more than its famous architecture — and, in doing so, holding up a mirror to modern India. In stints at the BBC, The Indian Express, NDTV, and Jagran New Media, he worked across formats and languages; mainly English, also Hindi and Punjabi. He was part of the crack team for the BBC Explainer project replicated across the world by the broadcaster. At Jagran, he developed editorial guides and trained journalists on integrity and content quality. He has also worked at the intersection of journalism and education. At the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad, he developed a website that simplified academic research in management. At Bennett University's Times School of Media in Noida, he taught students the craft of digital journalism: from newsgathering and writing, to social media strategy and video storytelling. Having moved from a small town to a bigger town to a mega city for education and work, his intellectual passions lie at the intersection of society, politics, and popular culture — a perspective that informs both his writing and his view of the world. When not working, he is constantly reading long-form journalism or watching brainrot content, sometimes both at the same time.Read More

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