In another controversial step that could further impact the deteriorating India-Bangladesh relations, a delegation of senior officials of the Pakistan Army and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) recently visited Rangpur Division in northern Bangladesh, which is located near the strategic ‘Chicken’s Neck’, aka the Siliguri Corridor.
India-Bangladesh relations: Bangladesh, which adopted a confrontational stance towards India since the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August last year, has recently taken another controversial step in that direction which could further impact the deteriorating India-Bangladesh relations.
According to reports, a delegation of senior officials of the Pakistan Army and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)– Islamabad’s infamous spy agency– recently visited Rangpur Division in northern Bangladesh, which is located near the strategic ‘Chicken’s Neck’, also known as the Siliguri Corridor, a narrow strip of land in West Bengal, that connects the India’s northeastern states to the rest of the country.
Reports citing sources in Dhaka said a four-member team of senior officials from the Pakistani Army and the ISI, arrived on a secret visit to Rangpur on January 21, following an invitation by Bangladesh Army’s principal staff officer (PSO) of Armed Forces Division, Lieutenant General SM Kamrul Hassan, who visited Islamabad last week.
The senior Bangladesh Army officer had extended an invite to his Pakistani counterparts to visit Bangladesh, who promptly obliged and arrived in the country on January 21.
ISI chief in Bangladesh?
The four-member delegation, reportedly headed by ISI chief Lt Gen Muhammad Asim Malik, also includes Major General Alam Amir Awan, and Major General Shahid Amir Afsar– ISI’s chief of analysis who previously served as Pakistan’s defence attache in Beijing.
While its unconfirmed that ISI chief Lt Gen Asim Malik is indeed a part of the delegation, one of the officials reportedly shares a similar name to Pakistan’s spymaster-in-chief, triggering speculations about him heading the team to Dhaka.
As per reports, the Pakistani delegation, which arrived in Dhaka on January 21 on an Emirates Airlines flight via Dubai, is on a four-day visit to Bangladesh, during which they are scheduled to hold interlocutors and visit top military establishments in the country.
The ISI officials’ visit to Bangladesh comes barely a week after after a six-member Bangladeshi delegation led by Lt Gen SM Kamrul Hasan paid a 4-day visit to Pakistan from January 13-18, where they reportedly met Islamabad top military leadership in Rawalpindi, including Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir.
Why Chicken’s Neck corridor is important for India
The Siliguri Corridor, dubbed the ‘ Chicken’s Neck’, is a narrow strip of land in West Bengal that connects India’s northeastern states to the rest of the country. Located between Mahananda and Teesta rivers, the corridor holds strategic importance for India from several aspects, including from a geopolitical, economic, and security point of view, because it connects eight northeastern states– Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura– to the mainland.
India-Bangladesh relations
India-Bangladesh relations have hit an all-time low after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, coming to the helm in Dhaka.
Widespread communal violence against minorities in Bangladesh, especially Hindus, which has soured Dhaka’s ties with New Delhi, with the latter accusing the Yunus-led interim government of not doing enough, and turning a blind eye to the atrocities perpetrated by radical Islamist elements against the minority Hindu community in the country.
Notably, amid rising tensions in India-Bangladesh relations, Dhaka is reportedly preparing for a direct military confrontation with India, a recent intelligence report has revealed.
