Turkey’s focus on Bangladesh, Pakistan aimed at targeting India

Turkey’s simultaneous tango with Pakistan and Bangladesh is aimed at expanding strategic footprints in India’s neighbourhood that may have long-term implications for South Asian dynamics, people familiar with the developments said.

While Turkish foreign and defence ministers jointly visited Islamabad on Wednesday, a senior Turkish defence industry official was in Dhaka on Tuesday to help set up two defence industrial zones.

Meanwhile, there are reports that Pakistan Army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, is planning a trip to Sri Lanka on July 21, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposed visit to Maldives on July 25-26.