Pakistan, Oct. 20 -- In the first week of October, I hosted a delegation of Bangladesh's next-generation leaders in Islamabad. The group was diverse: think-tank leaders, academics, entrepreneurs, technology executives - overall, they were all members of some of Bangladesh's best-known political, academic and business families. Most were under 45. Over four days, they met a wide cross-section of Pakistanis. On the final evening, over an informal dinner at my home, they handed me a question that led to an intriguing exchange as to why Bangladesh has left Pakistan behind, economically.

I served in Bangladesh for more than 13 years in the economic development arena as part of USAID. I am keenly aware of how heavily 1971 has weighed on the re...