DIRECT flights between Bangladesh and Pakistan resumed on Thursday for the first time in more than a decade, marking a step in improving ties between the two countries.
Since 2012, passengers travelling between the two countries had relied on connecting flights through Gulf hubs such as Dubai and Doha.
On Thursday, national carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines operated a flight from Dhaka to Karachi, the first regular direct service between the two countries since 2012.
Mohammad Shahid, one of the 150 passengers travelling to Karachi, said the resumption of direct flights would allow him to travel more often.
"We had been waiting for such an opportunity because we travel continuously," he told AFP in Dhaka.
"There are so many people waiting in Pakistan to come here, and some waiting here to go there."
Biman said direct flights would now operate twice a week.
In a statement, the airline said the resumption of flights would "play a significant role in promoting trade and commerce, expanding educational exchanges, and fostering cultural ties between the two countries".
Relations between Bangladesh and Pakistan have improved since a student-led revolt in Bangladesh overthrew Sheikh Hasina in 2024, ending her 15-year rule.
During the same period, ties between Bangladesh and India, a long-time ally of Hasina, have weakened.
Cargo shipping between Karachi and Bangladesh’s port of Chittagong resumed in November 2024.
Since then, trade between the two countries has increased, while cultural exchanges have expanded. Pakistani singers have performed in Dhaka, and Bangladeshi patients have travelled to Pakistan for medical treatment.
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