Dhaka I New Delhi: Retired Major General ALM Fazlur Rahman, a senior Bangladeshi official has ignited diplomatic controversy by suggesting that Bangladesh should consider occupying India’s northeastern states if New Delhi launches a military operation against Pakistan following the recent Pahalgam terror attack.
Rahman, chairperson of Bangladesh’s National Independent Commission of Inquiry into the 2009 BDR mutiny, made the provocative remark in a Facebook post.
Rahman, now part of the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, wrote that Bangladesh should “invade and occupy the seven northeastern states of India” in the event of an Indo-Pak conflict and proposed initiating military discussions with China.
His statement, which received public approval from commission colleague Shahnawaz Khan Chandan—an academic and former Islamist student leader—has drawn sharp reactions, especially given the sensitive timing. India recently suspended the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan and downgraded diplomatic ties following the Pahalgam attack, while Bangladesh has shown signs of warming ties with Islamabad.
Rahman’s comments have raised concerns in diplomatic circles, given his past role as head of the Bangladesh Rifles during the 2001 border clash with India and his current judicial-level status as head of the BDR mutiny probe. He has previously claimed that Indian intelligence may have had a role in the 2009 massacre that killed 74 people, including army officers.
The inflammatory remarks come amid tense regional dynamics, with reports of a possible visit by Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister to Dhaka and renewed bilateral engagement between the two countries after years of diplomatic freeze.
India has not yet issued an official response, but observers warn that such statements could further strain already fragile ties between New Delhi and Dhaka.
