NEW DELHI:Long-standing tensions between India and Pakistan are reshaping regional alliances, with New Delhi engaging with Afghanistan’s Taliban while Islamabad strengthens ties with post-revolutionary Bangladesh.
Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal rejected accusations that India’s actions were destabilizing, stating that India has consistently pursued this approach. Professor Hassan Abbas of the National Defense University noted that India aims to prevent the Taliban from allowing groups that pose a greater threat to India to operate within Afghanistan, adding that aggravating Pakistan is also part of India’s strategy.
India’s top diplomat, Vikram Misri, met Taliban foreign minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi in January in Dubai. Jaiswal highlighted that the meeting focused on enhancing the use of India’s $370 million investment in Iran’s Chabahar port to facilitate trade with Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh have warmed since Bangladesh’s 2024 revolution, which led to the ousting of long-time leader Sheikh Hasina, who sought refuge in India. The subsequent deterioration in India-Bangladesh ties allowed Pakistan and Bangladesh to rekindle their relationship.
In November, a Pakistani cargo ship successfully arrived in Bangladesh’s Chittagong port, marking the first such shipment in decades. Bangladesh’s interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in December to discuss strengthening bilateral relations. Senior Bangladeshi military officials later visited Pakistan, praising the growing “friendly relationship” between the two countries.
Amena Mohsin, a professor at Dhaka University, suggested that the shift in relations aligns with the diplomatic principle that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
