Bangladesh Air Force Chief Hasan Mahmood Khan recently visited Islamabad. According to a report by the Pakistani military’s media wing, he held detailed discussions on purchasing fighter jets from Pakistan. If everything goes well, an agreement between the two countries could be signed soon. In this situation, New Delhi has spoken out, stating that India is closely monitoring the situation.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated at a weekly press conference on Friday, “We are closely monitoring the entire situation. It is related to our national security.”
Notably, a few days ago, the Pakistani military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), issued a detailed statement regarding the Bangladesh Air Force chief’s visit. It claimed that Hasan Mahmood met Pakistan’s Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar. The two military chiefs discussed in detail Defence cooperation between Pakistan and Bangladesh. They also discussed the purchase of Pakistani fighter jets.
According to Pakistani media, the Bangladesh Air Force chief expressed interest in purchasing the ‘JF-17 Thunder’ fighter jet. Detailed discussions were held between the two countries regarding this fighter jet purchase agreement. If everything goes well, an agreement could be signed between the two countries for the purchase of these fighter jets.
What is ‘JF-17 Thunder’ fighter jet?
The JF-17 Thunder is a lightweight, all-weather, multi-role fighter aircraft jointly manufactured by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and China’s Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC). This modern 4.5 generation aircraft is equipped with Chinese avionics and is capable of carrying long-range weapons.
Pakistan and China signed an agreement in the late 1990s to develop the aircraft, with work beginning in the early 2000s at the PAC in Kamra, situated in Pakistan’s Punjab province, just more than 80km (50 miles) away from the capital, Islamabad.
Bangladesh is currently looking for modern weapons and fighter jets. And with this goal in mind, Bangladesh is increasing its hostility towards India and forming a military and Defence alliance with Pakistan. However, New Delhi has issued a stern warning, making it clear that India will not tolerate any such agreement that jeopardizes its national security.
India sends a strong message to Bangladesh after five Hindus killed in a month
India has sent a strong message to the administration of Muhammad Yunus regarding the unchecked violence against minorities in Bangladesh. In the last month alone, at least five Hindus have been killed, and numerous temples have been vandalized. India has issued a stern directive to Bangladesh to curb the rising fundamentalism. The Yunus government has been instructed to take swift and decisive action.
On Friday, the spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, delivered a strong message to Bangladesh regarding the increasing violence against minorities. He said, “We have repeatedly observed the alarming trend of extremist attacks on minorities in Bangladesh. Their homes and businesses are being attacked. Such incidents of communal violence must be dealt with swiftly and decisively. The tendency to dismiss these incidents as personal or political disputes emboldens the perpetrators and increases fear and insecurity among minorities.”
According to the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, the reported cases of communal violence stood at 51, including 10 murders, in December 2025. India had highlighted in a statement last month that there have been more than 2,900 incidents of violence against minorities, including cases of killings, arson, and land grabs, which have been documented by sources during the tenure of the interim government. “These incidents cannot be brushed aside as mere media exaggerations or dismissed as political violence,” Jaiswal had said.