By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh Imran Haider met Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Sunday, expressing hope that direct flights between Karachi and Dhaka will commence in January as the two nations seek to deepen economic and people-to-people links.
The courtesy call at the State Guest House Jamuna comes amid a marked improvement in bilateral relations since the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last year, with Yunus heading Bangladesh’s interim government. “During the meeting, both sides discussed ways to expand cooperation in trade, investment, and aviation, as well as scaling up cultural, educational, and medical exchanges to further strengthen bilateral relations between the two South Asian nations,” Yunus’s press wing said in a statement posted on X.
Haider noted that bilateral trade has risen 20 percent from a year earlier, with business communities on both sides pursuing fresh investment opportunities. He also pointed to growing cultural ties, including increased interest among Bangladeshi students in Pakistani universities, particularly in medical sciences, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence. “Pakistan has witnessed a rise in patients travelling to its leading hospitals for liver and kidney transplants,” Haider said, adding that Islamabad stands ready to provide training and academic programs in transplant-related fields.
Yunus welcomed the “growing interactions between the two countries” and stressed the value of more frequent visits along with enhanced cultural, educational and people-to-people contacts among members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.” Professor Yunus also underscored the need to further boost Bangladesh–Pakistan trade,” the statement said. He voiced optimism that, during Haider’s tenure, the countries would open new channels for investment and joint ventures.
The planned resumption of direct air links — absent for nearly a decade — follows a series of high-level engagements. In August, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar visited Dhaka, the first such trip by a Pakistani foreign minister in 13 years. Pakistan’s Foreign Office described it as a “significant milestone,” with both sides emphasising the revival of Saarc cooperation.
Earlier, in July, the nations agreed in principle to visa-free entry for diplomatic and official passport holders during a visit to Dhaka by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. Bilateral trade reached about $865 million in the 2024-25 fiscal year, up from prior levels, supported by resumed sea routes and government-to-government commerce initiatives. The developments follow a broader thaw in ties long strained by historical grievances dating to Bangladesh’s 1971 independence war. Since Hasina’s exile to India, Dhaka has pursued closer engagement with Islamabad while relations with New Delhi have cooled.
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