History is replete with ample lessons that guide future actions in any domain of study or research, be it geopolitics, culture or even military cooperation. Let us take the example of Afghanistan, a country that has historically never been conquered right from the ancient era through the glory days of the British empire and up to the modern times of Soviet and American invasions. Now for any dispassionate analyst, the way Afghans have behaved since centuries would clearly indicate a simple message - ‘let the Afghans be’. Clearly, the Lahori Lalas ruling the Pakistani military establishment appear to be inept at reading the much evident writing on the wall as nothing else could amply justify their attempts to combatively engage with the current Taliban dispensation.

Moving eastwards, the proud Bengalis of what now forms the independent People’s Republic of Bangladesh, have always been academically and culturally inclined with strong beliefs in democratic rights and freedom of speech and expression. Historically, these ideals have never been in synch with the erstwhile West, and now Pakistan, and were a major reason for the concentrated campaign of terror and coercion unleashed by the likes of Lt Gen Tikka Khan, a.k.a. the Butcher of East Pakistan in the early days of 1971. The violence unleashed by the then West Pak military establishment resulted in racial persecution of over three million Bangladeshis, and exodus of about 10 million citizens to India as refugees . In response, the heroic actions by Indian Armed Forces to liberate and establish Bangladesh as an independent country is one amongst the largest humanitarian military operation undertaken in the modern era. The extensive multi-domain operations undertaken by the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force in 1971, including the decisive two-pronged blockade off Chittagong and Karachi imposed by the Indian Navy’s Vikrant Carrier Battle Group and Western Fleet, respectively, not only saved several precious Bengali lives from persecution but also ushered in a new light of hope for the populace to carve out an independent nation, guided by the principles of justice, freedom and equality and not by the whimsical desires of arm-chair generals dictating terms from Islamabad.

Unfortunately, the Lalas from La La Land continue to be misguided due to their inept and inaccurate understanding of history. Some plain and true facts expose Pakistan’s hypocrisy as they now attempt to reach out to Bangladesh for military cooperation, and possibly to incite the Bengalis to act as a possible third front against India. Apart from the atrocities perpetrated by Pakistan military in 1971, it took almost four years for the Pakistan to recognise Bangladesh as a sovereign nation. Pakistan also took several years to repatriate stranded Bangladeshi citizens, and property and assets division was held up for a long period. The war crime trials conducted by an independent Bangladesh are testimonial to the sheer scale of atrocities done by the Pak military. To date, Bangladesh continues to seek a formal apology for the same, which the Pak military establishment conveniently chooses to ignore. 

It is also important to note that apart from shared colonial legacy, the erstwhile East and West Pakistan, had little in common. Separated by thousands of kilometres of land and two seas, even prior independence, the countries had minimal trade or cultural exchange. Post 1971, Pakistan has depilated to a despotic religious dominion with a downwards spiralling economy, poor social services, and lack of democratic freedom, largely attributable to the over-whelming military control over all governmental institutions. On the other hand, Bangladesh has invested in its precious human capital and ensured all-round development with strong economic metrices indicative through its emergence as a major manufacturing hub in Southeast Asia. Owing to the common shared goals of peace and security for its citizens, Bangladesh has naturally partnered with India in several domains. This includes the strong defence cooperation including training of Bangladeshi Armed Forces personnel in prestigious Indian Armed Forces Training Institutions such as the National Defence College and Defence Services Staff College and service specific training institutions such as INS Venduruthy, Kochi and the Army War College, Mhow. These have significantly shaped the outlook of Bangladesh Armed Forces and transformed them into a professional and apolitical force, much to the chagrin of the Lahori Lalas.

In this backdrop, the recent spurt in Pak military outreach to Dhaka seems diabolical and even hysterical to an extent. The sudden spate of visits by Pakistan civilian and military leadership, including the visit of Pak Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Gen Mirza in October and the now scheduled visit of Pak Naval Chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf, are attempts to seduce the Bangladeshi military leaders and possibly to sell them fractured dreams of military superiority over the civilian leadership, an experiment well perfected by the Lahori Lalas, causing much dismay of the average Pakistani citizen! 

With an impoverished Pak Navy battling with a handful of Chinese imported toys that are neither battle-proven or capable of foraying beyond brown waters, as was evident during Op Sindoor Ver 1.0 in May this year, it is anybody’s guess as to what Admiral Ashraf could possibly offer to the Bangladesh Navy. A casual analysis of Pak Navy operations during 1971 war against a transformational Indian Navy, especially in the Eastern theatre where INS Vikrant operated with impunity, indicates its superior experience in undertaking withdrawal operations, and is possibly the only Naval training that it can offer. Lack of technical expertise in either construction or repair of warships or submarines and heavy dependency on foreign (read Chinese) imports continue to plague the much diminutive Pak Navy and hence rules out any feasible technical assistance. Therefore, it would be much prudent for the Pak military establishment to invest its time in reading and learning from history and put its own house in order, rather than over-reaching to areas which are beyond their capability or jurisdiction. Indian Armed Forces, on the other hand, must continue to do what they have been doing since 1971, that is capacity and capability development of Bangladesh Armed Forces, as they navigate these treacherous overtures from Pak.