In a post on Facebook, Rahman said, “If India attacks Pakistan, Bangladesh should occupy the seven states of Northeastern India.” Earlier, Muhammad Yunus too made anti-India comments in China, where he suggested that Dhaka was the “only guardian” of the Indian Ocean in the region.
Amid the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack that took 26 innocent lives, a former Bangladesh army officer and close aide of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus has suggested that Dhaka should collaborate with China to occupy India’s northeastern states if it attacks Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.
However, Yunus’ interim government was quick to distance itself from the remarks made by Major General (Retd) ALM Fazlur Rahman.
Bangladesh distances itself from Rahman’s comments
In its response, Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a media release on Friday said, “The comments do not reflect the position or policies of the government of Bangladesh, and as such, the government neither endorses nor supports such rhetoric in any form or manner.”
It added that the Bangladesh government urged all concerned to refrain from associating the state with the personal views expressed by Rahman, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.
The ministry stressed that Bangladesh remains firmly committed to the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, mutual respect, and the peaceful coexistence of all nations.
What did Rahman say about India’s northeast states?
Rahman, in a Facebook post on Tuesday, said, “If India attacks Pakistan, Bangladesh should occupy the seven states of Northeastern India.” “I think it is necessary to start discussions with China on a joint military arrangement in this regard,” he added.
Rahman has held important posts under Yunus’ interim government, as he was appointed in December 2024 as the chairman of the National Independent Commission assigned to investigate the killings in the Bangladesh Rifles revolt of 2009.
When Muhammad Yunus made anti-India comment in China
Bangladesh’s top leadership has also made anti-India remarks in the recent past. In March, Yunus, during his visit to China, said that India’s seven northeastern states, which share a nearly 1,600-km border with Bangladesh, are landlocked and have no way to reach the ocean except through his country.
In his address at a business event in China, Yunus suggested that Dhaka was the “only guardian” of the Indian Ocean in the region, inviting Beijing to send goods through Bangladesh across the world.
(With PTI inputs)
