ISLAMABAD: Direct flights between Pakistan and Bangladesh are set to resume next month, with Karachi-Dhaka operations expected to be launched in January, as the two countries move closer to restoring full aviation connectivity.
Highly placed aviation sources told ‘The News’ on Sunday that the aviation authorities of both brotherly countries have authenticated the resumption of flight operations, reflecting improving bilateral relations.
According to the sources, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Imran Haider, has indicated that direct flights between Karachi and Dhaka will commence in January. He conveyed this during a courtesy meeting with Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus at the State Guest House in Dhaka on Sunday.
During the meeting, both sides discussed ways to further strengthen bilateral relations by expanding cooperation in trade, investment and aviation, while also enhancing cultural, educational and medical exchanges.
The high commissioner noted that bilateral trade has increased by 20 per cent compared to last year, adding that business communities in both countries are actively exploring new investment opportunities. Highlighting a rise in cultural and educational exchange, he said Bangladeshi students had shown strong interest in higher education in Pakistan, particularly in medical sciences, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence.
Imran Haider also pointed to an increase in the number of Bangladeshi patients travelling to Pakistan for liver and kidney transplants at leading hospitals. He said Pakistan was ready to offer training and academic opportunities in transplant-related medical fields to Bangladeshi doctors.
Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus welcomed the growing interaction between the two countries and stressed the importance of increasing travel among SAARC member states, along with strengthening cultural, educational and people-to-people exchanges. He stressed the need to further boost Pakistan-Bangladesh trade and expressed hope that during High Commissioner Haider’s tenure, both countries would explore new avenues for investment and joint ventures.
SDG Coordinator and Senior Secretary Lamiya Morshed was also present at the meeting.
Pakistan and Bangladesh have drawn closer in recent months, and this renewed bonhomie appears to have paved the way for the decision to resume direct flight services. Currently, travellers between the two countries rely on connecting flights via Dubai or Doha.
Earlier this year, it was reported that Karachi-based airline Fly Jinnah was set to operate Karachi-Dhaka flights, a move that was also confirmed by Bangladeshi government officials. Following the launch of a direct shipping line between Karachi and Bangladesh’s Chittagong port, officials had indicated that a direct air link would also be introduced.
“The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) has approved a proposal by Fly Jinnah to operate direct flights between Pakistan and Bangladesh,” Abdul Naser Khan, Additional Secretary at Bangladesh’s Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, had said.
Bangladesh’s interim government had earlier lifted visa restrictions on Pakistan. Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to Pakistan, Muhammad Iqbal Hussain Khan, had said earlier this year that relations between the two countries had entered a new era and would be strengthened in multidimensional ways, adding that direct flights were a longstanding demand of people on both sides.
