For the first time since the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, a Pakistan Navy warship has docked in Bangladesh. The frigate PNS Saif arrived at Chattogram Port on 8 November for a four-day goodwill visit, according to a statement issued by the Bangladesh Navy.

The vessel, commanded by Captain Shujaat Abbas Raja, was welcomed by representatives from the Pakistan Embassy in Dhaka and senior officers of the Bangladesh Navy. Upon entering Bangladeshi waters, it was ceremonially received by BNS Shadhinota.

The visit, they said, aims to enhance friendship and cooperation between the two navies. The PNS Saif, built in China, is an F-22P Zulfiquar-class missile frigate commissioned into the Pakistan Navy in 2010 and currently based in Karachi.

The visit coincides with the Pakistan Navy Chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf’s four-day tour to Bangladesh. During his stay, Admiral Ashraf met Bangladesh Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman and Navy Chief Admiral M Nazmul Hassan.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of Pakistan’s Defence Ministry, the meetings focused on strengthening bilateral defence ties, exploring joint training programmes, and increasing cooperation through seminars and official visits.

Admiral Ashraf’s visit follows that of Pakistan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, who visited Dhaka two weeks earlier and met interim government head Dr. Muhammad Yunus along with the chiefs of Bangladesh’s armed forces.

The return of a Pakistan Navy ship to Bangladesh comes after many years of limited contact and cooperation between the two nations. Experts added that such visits were rare even when Bangladesh had governments that were considered friendly towards Pakistan.

The visit of PNS Saif follows that of the US Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald, which berthed at the same port in October for a three-day goodwill mission.

References: timesnownews, deccanchronicle