Bangladesh News: Bangladesh has expressed a likely interest in buying Pakistan’s JF-17 Thunder fighter aircrafts.
Bangladesh News-Why is Bangladesh keen to buy JF-17?
A multi-role combat aircraft, the JF-17 Thunder has been developed jointly by Pakistan and China that failed to impress during Operation Sindoor.
This development came after a meeting between Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu and Bangladesh Air Force Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan in the capital city of Islamabad.
In a statement, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the meeting between the two Air Chiefs emphasized on strengthening institutional synergy and operational cooperation. It was added that the meeting also focused on capacity building, training and collaboration in aerospace advancements.
Interestingly, both Pakistan and Bangladesh (two of IMF’s biggest lenders) are struggling financially and economically. In 2026, Pakistan is facing low GDP growth of around 3 percent and more than 40 percent of its population lives in poverty. The country has always struggled with corruption, military coups, terrorist attacks, attacks on minorities and attacks on investors like Chinese businessmen.
In contrast, Bangladesh is grappling with high interest rates preventing private investment, rising non-performing loans weakening banks and financial institutions and sluggish job creation amid youth unemployment pressure.
Both countries don’t have money for its people but always have funds to buy more arms.
Reaction of India
Indian government has not responded to this development. However, it is no surprise that both Pakistan and Bangladesh would only use their arms against India.
In recent times, Bangladesh has seen a flurry of attacks against minorities that have been condemned globally. Incidents of lynching, rapes, stabbing and burning of minority people and their homes have been common occurrences.
