From CK Nayak
NEW DELHI, May 4: India, which very seriously took Bangladesh’s Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus’s “landlocked” comments on the Northeast region while inviting China to invest heavily, by and large has ignored former BDR Major General’s rhetoric to invade and annex the region in case India attacks Pakistan on the wake of recent terrorist strikes in Kashmir.
Amid a downhill relationship between India and Bangladesh, Dhaka Bangladeshi authorities quickly disowned its military aid’s rhetoric to invade and annex Northeast states if New Delhi attacks Pakistan. Shafiqul Alam, press secretary at Bangladesh chief adviser’s office, said the comments made by Major General (retired) ALM Fazlur Rahman, the head of the BDR commission, were made in his personal capacity. “The Bangladesh government unequivocally states that these views do not reflect the government’s official stance,” Alam stated.
A retired Bangladeshi army officer, who is closely associated with the current interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, has called for occupation of India’s Northeastern states should India launch an attack on Pakistan over the Pahalgam carnage. Rahman, a former chief of Bangladesh Rifles, now known as Border Guard Bangladesh had also suggested in his social media post that Bangladesh “needs to start discussing a joint military system with China.”
“The interim government does not share his views in any shape or form and does not endorse such rhetoric. Bangladesh respects the sovereignty and independence of all nations and expects the same from others. We urge all not to drag the government of Bangladesh in reference to Major Gen Fazlur Rahman’s personal comments,” Alam said in a sternly worded statement. The reference to India’s Northeast has drawn scrutiny in India, with officials and analysts questioning the significance and intent behind highlighting the region’s landlocked status to Chinese investors. The remarks are viewed in the context of China’s growing strategic interest in South Asia and its infrastructure development near India’s borders, particularly in Arunachal Pradesh.
Rahman’s statement on April 29 comes amid heightened India-Pakistan tensions over the killing of 26 tourists on April 22 in Kashmir and a period of strained India-Bangladesh relations after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, bringing to light the complex geopolitical dynamics of the region.
The interim government last year appointed Rahman as the head of a seven-member independent commission to re-investigate the 2009 revolt and massacre at the Pilkhana headquarters of the then Bangladesh Rifles. In the violent incident 74 persons, including 57 Army officers, were killed.
Rahman’s statement came weeks after Yunus’s trip to China, where he allegedly encouraged Beijing to expand its economic influence into Bangladesh, highlighting that India’s northeastern states are landlocked and suggesting this could be an opportunity for China and Bangladesh.
Yunus positioned Bangladesh as the “only guardian of the ocean” for the region and pitched the country as a gateway for Chinese economic expansion, including access to Nepal and Bhutan’s hydropower resources. Yunus signed several agreements with China and described the relationship as entering a ‘new stage’, emphasising the importance of seeing China as a good friend and balancing factor against India.
Meanwhile, the retired Maj General’s idea to invade and annex Northeast India was described as outlandish by many minority leaders within India. “You owe your existence to India,” prominent minority leader Asaduddin Owaisi said in a comment in reaction.
International experts have added the beleaguered country of Bangladesh as a failing country trying to clutch China. The country is gripped by lawlessness, violent protests, and rising radicalization, they said.
Many also treat the ex-Maj General’s comments as part of rabid pro-Pakistani fundamentalist elements’ failure to accept division of Pakistan on language issues. The interim government is unable to assert control, and inflation is high. Investment has weakened, and growth has slipped to 3.3–3.9% for FY25 with the economy remaining functional but barely, they added.