Pakistan woos old rival Bangladesh, as India watches

FILE PHOTO: A retired Indian Army officer reads martyrs' names during an event on the occasion of 'Vijay Diwas', at the Eastern Command headquarters of Indian army in Fort William, Kolkata on December 16, 2023. Bangladesh will host the foreign minister and trade envoy this week, its most senior Pakistani visitors in years, in a bid to reset relations scarred by the bloody 1971 conflict and shaped by shifting regional power balances. - AFP

DHAKA: Decades after Pakistani troops killed his friends in Bangladesh's independence war, veteran freedom fighter Syed Abu Naser Bukhtear Ahmed eyes warming ties between Dhaka and Islamabad with cautious pragmatism.

Bangladesh is hosting the foreign minister and trade envoy this week, its most senior Pakistani visitors in years, in a bid to reset relations scarred by the bloody 1971 conflict and shaped by shifting regional power balances.