In a significant diplomatic development, Pakistan Army Lieutenant General Tabassum Habib, Director General of Joint Staff at Chaklala near Rawalpindi, arrived in Dhaka on October 6 to a red-carpet welcome from Bangladesh’s Armed Forces Division (AFD) under the office of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus.
The visit marks the highest-level Pakistani military delegation to Bangladesh since the Yunus-led interim government took power on August 8, 2024, following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government in what international observers describe as a US-backed regime change operation.
High-level reception and ceremonial honours
Lt Gen Habib landed at Shah Jalal International Airport in Dhaka at 11:30 p.m. on Monday and was escorted to the Radisson Blu Hotel under tight security. On Tuesday morning, he was accorded a guard of honour at Sena Kunjo, followed by a meeting with Lt Gen S. M. Kamrul Hassan, head of the Armed Forces Division.
He later proceeded to the Bangladesh Army Headquarters, where he held talks with General Waker-uz-Zaman, the Chief of Army Staff. According to sources, the same ceremonial protocol will be extended during his visits to the Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) and Navy Headquarters later this week.
The BAF is set to host a working lunch, while the AFD will organise a formal dinner in the visiting general’s honour.
Visits to Defence institutions and Cox’s Bazar
On October 8, Lt Gen Habib will visit the National Defence College (NDC) in Dhaka for an official briefing and interactions with senior officers. Later in the day, he is scheduled to fly to Cox’s Bazar, where he will have a “quiet lunch” and check in at the Baywatch Hotel.
The Bangladesh Army will host a dinner that evening. The visiting Pakistani general is expected to depart for Islamabad on October 9.
Strengthening Pakistan–Bangladesh military ties
The visit is being viewed as part of a series of quiet military engagements between Dhaka and Rawalpindi over the past year. In January 2025, two senior officers of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) — Maj Gen Shahid Amir Afsar and Maj Gen Alam Amir Awan — visited Bangladesh.
This was followed by a June visit by three Pakistani Army brigadiers, who toured the 10th Infantry Division headquarters at Ramu in Cox’s Bazar. More recently, three other Pakistan Army major generals were in Dhaka, though details of their meetings have been kept strictly confidential.
A distinguished military career
Born into the Pakistan Army’s artillery branch, Lt Gen Tabassum Habib was commissioned in 1991 into the Medium Regiment Artillery. A distinguished officer, he is a graduate of Pakistan’s Command and Staff College, Quetta, and the Joint Services Staff College, Shrivenham (UK).
He holds a Master’s in Defence Studies from King’s College, London, a Master’s in the Art and Science of Warfare from Balochistan University, and an MPhil in Public Policy and Strategic Security Management from National Defence University, Islamabad.
He is also an alumnus of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Symbolic visit amid changing regional dynamics
This high-profile visit underscores the rapidly shifting geopolitical alignments in South Asia since the change of government in Dhaka. The Yunus-led administration appears to be pursuing a more balanced foreign policy, with military-to-military engagements signalling growing cooperation with Pakistan after years of diplomatic chill under Sheikh Hasina’s rule.
Lt Gen Habib’s four-day stay — marked by ceremonial honours, official meetings, and strategic discussions — is expected to further strengthen defence-level communication between the two countries.
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