India’s decision to send Dinesh Trivedi, a former railway and health minister who joined the BJP in 2021, as high commissioner to Bangladesh is more than a diplomatic posting. It is New Delhi admitting that its Dhaka policy now needs political repair. A veteran from West Bengal is being sent into a capital where India’s old certainties have been shaken by Sheikh Hasina’s fall, Tarique Rahman’s rise, China’s deepening presence and Pakistan’s limited but real opening.
Bangladesh is not waiting for sentimental speeches. It is looking for fuel, fertiliser, cotton, food security, industrial inputs, cheaper logistics and diplomatic space after a convulsive transition.
Dhaka has already sought increased Indian fuel and fertiliser supplies, closer energy cooperation and easier travel arrangements. India still dominates the economic map.
The opportunity sits in plain sight. Cotton made up nearly $594 million of Pakistan’s exports to Bangladesh in 2024. Chemicals, cereals, sugar, leather, machinery and knitted fabrics were all present in the trade basket, still underdeveloped.
Bangladesh’s garment sector needs reliable textile inputs. Pakistan has cotton, yarn and fabric capacity. Bangladesh needs affordable construction materials and industrial chemicals. Pakistan can supply both. Dhaka wants diversified partners after years of heavy trade reliance on India. Islamabad should not waste the opening.
Now, Pakistan should move from ceremonial warmth to a formal Dhaka economic package: a trade facilitation framework built around cotton yarn, grey cloth, denim, pharmaceuticals, surgical goods, rice, cement, light engineering and halal food products. Direct shipping between Karachi, Port Qasim and Chittagong should be made predictable, because trade cannot grow on communiqués while containers crawl through expensive third-country routes.
The textile opening deserves special treatment. Pakistan should invite Bangladeshi garment exporters into long-term supply contracts tied to Pakistani cotton and yarn. A joint textile working group should be given quarterly targets, not photo sessions. Chambers of commerce in Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Dhaka should identify fifty importers and exporters each for immediate matching.
This policy must be pro-Pakistan without sounding anti-Bangladesh. Pakistan gains nothing by sounding wounded, defensive or trapped in 1971. A confident state can acknowledge the pain of the past and still build the future. Pretending otherwise only strengthens those who want Pakistan permanently disqualified from Bangladesh’s imagination.
There is also a generational opening. Bangladesh’s new political moment was shaped by young people who challenged patronage, quota politics and state violence. Pakistan should engage that generation through scholarships, media exchanges, university partnerships, cricket, technology forums and startup linkages. *