Autonomy in foreign policy is the singular ability of a nation to act in its own interest, without the heavy hand of external coercion guiding the pen. Paradoxically, Bangladesh’s recent and hurried moves to deepen ties with Pakistan threaten to erode this very autonomy, the prized possession of any sovereign state. By entangling itself with a nation whose strategic imperatives are opposed to regional stability, Dhaka is walking, perhaps blindly, into a trap in which its choices will increasingly be dictated by the volatility of its partner rather than the needs of its people. 

This is not a partnership of equals; it is a strategic misstep that reopens wounds that have never fully healed. It alienates the populace, creating a dangerous disconnect between the rulers and the ruled. The citizenry, which carries the generational trauma of the liberation war in its collective memory, views these moves with deep and justified suspicion. This alienation weakens the government’s domestic mandate, forcing it to rely more heavily on external validation—a classic and tragic recipe for........

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