January 2, 2026
NEW DELHI – External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishankar on Wednesday met Pakistani National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, where the two leaders had arrived to attend the funeral of Begum Khaleda Zia.
The Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus, shared photographs of the meeting between Jaishankar and Sadiq. In the photos shared by Yunus, the two leaders are seen exchanging handshakes.
“Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan, exchanges greetings with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Dhaka on Wednesday ahead of the funeral programme of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia,” Yunus said on X.
This marks the first high-level interaction between India and Pakistan since the Pahalgam terrorist attack and Operation Sindoor. It is not immediately known what the two leaders discussed during their meeting.
India and Pakistan fought a brief four-day war in May of this year following India’s Operation Sindoor strike on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK). The strikes were India’s response to the deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir on April 22.
Jaishankar visited Dhaka to attend the funeral of Khaleda Zia, the first woman prime minister of Bangladesh. During his visit, the minister met Zia’s son Tarique Rahman and handed him a message of condolence from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Conveyed deepest condolences on behalf of the Government and people of India. Expressed confidence that Begum Khaleda Zia’s vision and values will guide the development of our partnership,” Jaishankar said in a post on X.
Besides Jaishankar and Sadiq, leaders from Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives also attended the funeral of Khaleda Zia. Begum Khaleda Zia died on Tuesday after a prolonged illness. She was 80.