Pakistan, Bangladesh Deepen Ties Amid Map Row

Pakistan and Bangladesh have moved to deepen ties, with trade cooperation formalized at the ninth Pakistan‑Bangladesh Joint Economic Commission — the first such meeting in 20 years — and Islamabad offering Karachi Port access for Bangladeshi exports amid recent Dhaka–New Delhi tensions and Indian jute import restrictions. Pakistan’s military chief, Gen. Sahir Shamshad Mirza, held high‑level talks in Dhaka with Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on trade, investment, defence cooperation, a Karachi–Chattogram shipping route and a planned Dhaka–Karachi air link; both sides flagged concerns about misinformation and regional de‑escalation. Yunus presented a coffee‑table book, The Art of Triumph, whose graffiti‑style cover was widely interpreted online as depicting India’s northeastern states within Bangladesh, prompting outrage and diplomatic concern in India. Dhaka has strongly denied any deliberate territorial claim, saying the volume is a pictorial record of the July uprising featuring student graffiti and that minor artistic distortions do not represent an expanded map. The episode has amplified worries in New Delhi about territorial sensitivity and about Bangladesh’s apparent pivot toward Pakistan and China as regional alignments shift.