Bangladesh forgets 1971 pangs to embrace tormentor

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- K S Tomar

Bangladesh's recent decision to sign a pact with Pakistan for military training marks a startling and controversial shift in its foreign policy, one that has left both historians and strategists baffled. This could be attributed to India's defective foreign policy of putting all eggs in one basket i.e., patronising the unceremoniously ousted leader of that country, Sheikh Hasina, thereby alienating other political forces therein.

Scheduled to commence in February 2025, this agreement will see Pakistani military trainers operating across four cantonments in Bangladesh. For a nation that endured one of the most horrific genocides at the hands of the Pakistani army in 1971, this move is not only a betrayal of its own history but also a troubling sign of shifting regional dynamics. The shadow of 1971 looms large over this development. The Pakistani military's campaign of atrocities during the Liberation War, which left three million dead and countless others displaced, is etched in the collective memory of Bangladesh.