The Bangladesh factor in a future Pakistan India conflict.
Can Bangladeshi "neutrality" be taken for granted? Is it far fetched to assume Bangladesh is not neutral and does pose a very minuscule but still possible threat to Pakistan?
Let's look at the facts:
Bangladesh has supported Indian "surgical strikes" against Pakistan.
Particularly in 2019 and also before, there have threats made by the Bangladesh against Pakistan and Bangladesh has consistently and unequivocally supported Indian aggression against Pakistan.
Bangladesh supported both "surgical strikes " against Pakistan, Indian airstrikes, and Indian Airforce action ( Example: Downing of a PN Atlantic aircraft in a training mission inside Pakistani air space in 1999)
Bangladesh is in a formal military and economic alliance with India. So far Bangladeshi forces and military officials have only maintained an observer status during Indian operations against Pakistan ( Operation Brasstacks in 1987).
With a new aggressively Hindutva fascist governments in both India and Bangladesh, the possibility of Bangladeshi military participation in
war with Pakistan is very real.
Bangladesh's military contribution to India's war effort will be modest, and the aim of India involving Bangladesh would be for propaganda purposes showing an anti-Pakistan coalition just as the USA brought Mongolian troops to fight in Iraq as part of the "coalition". The presence of the Mongols ( all 100 of them) was to demoralize the Iraqis recalling the sack of Baghdad by Hulaku Khan in 1258 C.E.
Similarly the presence of Bangladeshi troops on the Lahore front would in India's eyes be demoralizing to Pakistan evoking memories of the 1971 Civil War.
Realistically what would be Bangladesh's contribution to India's military actions on Pakistan's eastern borders.
A few BAF Su 30s would probably be flying operations in support of the IAF and the Bangladesh Navy would probably be assisting Indian Navy operations in the Palk Straits trying to intercept Pakistani maritime traffic en-route to Chjna , but the ground participation of the Bangladeshi troops would be modest. Bangladesh would probably like to avoid casualties hoping for a grand re-enactment of 1971 with the heavy lifting done by India.
We have already war gamed the India Pakistan ultimate showdown scenario and how the war would escalate.
The question is how would Pakistan treat Bangladesh in the nuclear escalation. Pakistani submarines would doubtless target Bangladeshi commercial maritime traffic through the Arabian sea.
We could war game a huge number of scenarios elsewhere but to conclude with the question:
In an ultimate Apocalypse Pakistan would be targeting Kolkata. Would Pakistan strike Dhaka and the rest of Bangladesh as well, knowing that the vast majority of the civilian deaths would be of our so called "brethren in faith" ?