'If India attacks Pak, Bangladesh should...' : Yunus' aide issues warning

Amid soaring tension between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam attack that left 26 people dead, a retired Bangladeshi major general, ALM Fazlur Rahman said that in case India attacks Pakistan in retaliation of the terror attack, Bangladesh should invade and occupy the seven northeastern states of India.

Fazlur Rahman, a former chief of the then Bangladesh Rifles (now Border Guard Bangladesh), known for his proximity to Bangladesh chief advisor Muhammad Yunus, also said that his country should seek military cooperation from China to execute the invasion.

Deteriorating ties

“ If India attacks Pakistan, Bangladesh should invade and occupy the seven sister states of northeast India. I feel it is necessary to initiate discussions on military cooperation with China,” the chairperson of the National Independent Commission, wrote in Bengali on Facebook.

His comments come at a time when bilateral ties between India and Bangladesh have turned frosty after former Bangladesh Prime Minister and Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina sought refuge India after being ousted from her country following a violent student-led agitation.

India’s expression of concern over alleged attacks on minority Hindus in Bangladesh under the Yunus regime has also not gone down well with Bangladesh.

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Stoking controversy

Yunus himself waded into a controversy with his comment on the northeastern states of India during his visit to China in March.

“The seven states of India, the eastern part of India, are called the seven sisters. They are a landlocked region of India. They have no way to reach out to the ocean,” Yunus said as quoted by Hindustan Times. Describing Bangladesh as the “only guardian of the ocean” in the region, Yunus said that this can be a major opportunity, an extension of the Chinese economy.

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India's response

Condemnation from India was swift as several leaders of the ruling BJP slammed Yunus over the remark.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's comment in April during a foreign minister's meeting of BIMSTEC seemed like a rebuttal to Yunus's suggestion.

“Our northeastern region in particular is emerging as a connectivity hub for the BIMSTEC, with a myriad network of roads, railways, waterways, grids and pipelines,” he said. He also said that India was aware of its “special responsibility” in the context of BIMSTEC.

Within days after Yunus’ remark, India terminated an arrangement for trans-shipment of Bangladeshi export cargo to third countries via Indian airports and ports, saying that it led to congestion for cargo traffic.