First direct cargo shipment from Pakistan arrives in Bangladesh, signals shift in foreign relations

Dhaka: Pakistan's first direct cargo ship to Bangladesh since its 1971 independence docked at the southeastern Chittagong Port last week, signalling a shift in foreign relations under the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus.

"To my knowledge, this was the first cargo ship that came directly from Karachi, mainly carrying raw materials for our textile and ceramic industries,” an official of the Chittagong Port Authority said.

He, however, added that the ship began its voyage from the UAE with its destination being Indonesia and made a stopover in Karachi to load cargo for Bangladesh. Some of the containers also carried goods from Dubai.

In 1971, West Pakistan and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) fought. This war led to the creation of an independent state known as Bangladesh.

Officials said the ship, 'MV Yuan Xian Fa Zhong', arrived at Chittagong Port on November 13 and left soon after unloading the cargo from Pakistan. Earlier, cargo from Pakistan was shipped from a third country like Sri Lanka, Singapore or Malaysia through feeder vessels.

A commerce ministry official familiar with the process said direct cargo transport from Pakistan reduces the price of commodities and quickens the shipment process.

Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh Syed Ahmed Maroof called the voyage a step toward "boosting more integrated and trade network across the region." Leading foreign relations expert Professor Imtiaz Ahmed said that from an economic point of view “it is surprising to me why there were no direct shipments to and from Pakistan so far since the two countries are engaged in trade relations despite strained political relations”.

But, he said, as far as regional and geopolitical politics were concerned, “you should not do anything annoying other major countries like India, a reference to Yunus's comments that he wanted to revive the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

“In diplomacy, we need inclusion instead of alienating anyone...If India wants, SAARC will revive, if it does not want to, it will remain inactive as it is now and even if you want to form a new regional alliance discarding India, you have to consider as well if other countries would like to discard a giant elephant,” Ahmed said.

On India-Bangladesh ties after the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina regime, the analyst said, "I think what is going on now is a temporary phenomenon and eventually Dhaka-Delhi ties should be on the right track for mutual benefit”.

During the recent UN General Assembly in New York, Yunus held meetings with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other regional leaders, but an expected meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not take place.

Yunus, who assumed the office as the Chief Adviser of the interim government on August 8, three days after the ouster of then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a student-led mass upsurge, on Sunday said Dhaka would seek her repatriation from India to stand trial.

"It is very clear that the interim government, because of its concerns about its partnership with India, would want to take a bit of a different approach to Pakistan,” director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute Michael Kugelman said in a recent media interview.

Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was unwilling to strengthen ties with Pakistan due to its lack of a full apology for the 1971 war. His daughter, Hasina, in 2022, denied Pakistan's request for the Chinese-built frigate warship PNS Taimur to dock at Chittagong Port.