A six-member delegation from Bangladesh’s military intelligence organisation, the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence, travelled to Pakistan on August 15, marking the latest sign of deepening security and intelligence cooperation between Dhaka and Islamabad. The delegation was led by Colonel Magfuz-ul-Bari and included Wing Commander Imrul Kais, Mohiuddin Mohammad Asif, Squadron Leader Raihan Mohammad Chowdhury, Murad Hossain Tushar, and Khandokar Ariful Islam.
This visit follows an earlier trip by DGFI Director General Major General Qaiser Rashid Chowdhury to Islamabad in April 2026, made barely a month after he assumed charge of the agency. That Islamabad visit reportedly included meetings with senior Pakistan Army officers and his ISI counterparts, with three other DGFI officers accompanying him. A DGFI delegation had also travelled to Pakistan the previous year, according to reports.
Former Indian ambassador Anil Trigunayat told Firstpost that Pakistan’s military and ISI “have always been very active in Bangladesh” and found exceptional outreach during the Mohammad Yunus-led interim government following the August 2024 ouster of Sheikh Hasina’s government, an event that dramatically altered the region’s security landscape. Trigunayat noted that Pakistan’s military and ISI have embedded well in Bangladesh, suggesting that the current government, despite being somewhat pragmatic, continues to benefit from the strategic space created by closer ties with Beijing and Islamabad. He added that the present regime is traversing the same path where strategic advantages from the Sino-Pak axis are being savoured.
This raises pointed questions over whether Dhaka is using its Pakistan outreach to gain additional leverage with India. Notably, Bangladesh does not necessarily need to choose Pakistan over India to benefit from closer ties with Islamabad; instead, Pakistan offers Dhaka another strategic lever at a time when its relationship with New Delhi remains unsettled.
The visit also comes at a politically consequential moment, with Dhaka yet to give New Delhi a clear answer on Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s possible participation in the BRICS summit scheduled for September.