Foodies in Dhaka have lately noticed something unusual: a quiet and quick proliferation of Pakistani restaurants. The foodscape is getting dotted with names like Noush, Karaachi Dastarkhwan, PeshWarain, Multani Dera, Zaiqa, Lahore By iKitchen… mostly new, a couple of them older.

The nihari, chapli kebab, raan, and biryani are mostly excellent. There is not much to complain about with the food.

The problem, given Bangladesh’s current political turmoil, is the purport of this trend.

Pakistan, which once ruled over Bangladesh from beyond 1,500 km of Indian “enemy territory", has made a rapid comeback after the August 5, 2024, coup that ousted Sheikh Hasina as PM and put an Islamist-backed interim government led by Muhammad Yunus. Pakistan’s growing presence is not political. It is bleeding into the ideological, cultural, and military.

Pakistani........

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