DHAKA, Bangladesh: Direct flights between Bangladesh and Pakistan resumed on Thursday after more than a decade, as ties warm between the two nations that have long had an uneasy relationship.
Bangladesh and Pakistan — geographically divided by about 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) of Indian territory — were once one nation. They split after a bitter war in 1971.
Since 2012, travelers between Bangladesh and Pakistan had to use connecting flights through Gulf hubs such as Dubai and Doha.
On Thursday national carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines departed for the Pakistani city of Karachi, the first regular flight since 2012.
Mohammad Shahid, one of 150 Karachi-bound passengers on board, said he was happy to be able to travel more frequently than before, when he could only make the journey once every two or three years.
