In a shocking remark, a former Bangladesh army officer and close aide of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus suggested that Dhaka should collaborate with China to occupy India’s northeastern states if New Delhi attacks Pakistan in retaliation to the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which claimed the lives of at least 26 people, mostly tourists, and left several others injured.
On Friday, Yunus’ interim government distanced itself from the remarks made by Major General (Retd) ALM Fazlur Rahman on his Facebook account. In a post on the social media account, Rahman wrote in Bengali, “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 said.
Yunus, in December 2024, was appointed by the Yunus-led interim government as the chairman of the National Independent Commission assigned to investigate the killings in the Bangladesh Rifles revolt of 2009.
Distancing itself from the former army officer’s remarks, 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.” Earlier in March, Yunus, during his visit to China, had urged Beijing to make the ocean-facing part of Bangladesh an extension of the Chinese economy.
In a video that went viral on social media, Yunus urged the Chinese government to set up its economic base in the country while saying that Dhaka was the only guardian of the ocean in that region.
“Seven states of India, the eastern part of India called the Seven Sisters, are landlocked countries. They have no way to reach out to the ocean. We are the only guardians of the ocean in this region. This opens up a huge possibility. This could be an extension of the Chinese economy – build, produce and market things, bring them back to China, and export them to the rest of the world,” said Yunus.
The comments did not go down well in New Delhi and drew sharp reactions from political leaders in India across party lines.
Days after Yunus’ controversial remarks, India in April withdrew the transhipment facility it had granted to Bangladesh for exporting goods to the Middle East, Europe and various other countries except Nepal and Bhutan.
