Pakistan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, the country’s second-highest ranking Army officer, is set to arrive in Dhaka late tonight, signalling a major strengthening of defence ties between Pakistan and Bangladesh.
According to intelligence sources, General Mirza will lead a six-member delegation on Emirates flight EK-584, scheduled to land at Hazrat Shah Jalal International Airport shortly after 11:30 pm. His visit follows a recent inspection of border areas by a three-member Indian Military Intelligence team that left Bangladesh last week.
Since the Mohammad Yunus-led interim government assumed power in August 2024, defence ties between Islamabad and Dhaka have grown. Senior Pakistani military and ISI officials have undertaken multiple visits to Bangladesh, reflecting shifting regional dynamics.
Bangladesh’s armed forces, which have recently diversified partnerships to include countries such as Turkey and Pakistan, are reportedly treating Gen Mirza’s visit as highly significant. Meetings between Pakistani and Bangladeshi officers are confidential, though intelligence sources confirm discussions will explore avenues for enhanced defence cooperation.
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The visit is likely to raise concern in New Delhi, as India’s traditional security influence in Bangladesh appears to be waning. It also precedes a Pakistani economic mission led by Federal Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Khan Cheema, scheduled for October 26, to discuss the Pakistan-Bangladesh Joint Economic Commission and meet key advisers, including Chief Adviser Yunus, Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hussein, and Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin.
Prior to Gen Mirza’s arrival, several high-ranking Pakistani officers, including Lieutenant General Tabassum Habib, Director General of the Joint Staff Headquarters, and the General Officer Commanding of the 15th Infantry Division, had reached Dhaka. Earlier in May, three brigadiers from Pakistan Army’s Medical Corps visited Bangladesh and toured the 10th Infantry Division Headquarters in Ramu near Cox’s Bazar.
The United States has meanwhile urged Bangladesh to sign two defence agreements, the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) and the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA), to facilitate classified information sharing and logistical support.
General Mirza, who assumed his current post on November 27, 2022, is considered one of Pakistan’s most influential military figures after Field Marshal Asim Munir. “Recently, while addressing a symposium in Islamabad on October 16, he reignited the Kashmir debate, stressing the need for a ‘third-party mechanism’ to resolve disputes between India and Pakistan. Gen Mirza’s visit marks another pivotal moment in the evolving geopolitical landscape of South Asia, with Bangladesh emerging as a growing arena for regional strategic influence,” said an intelligence wing official.
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