Bangladesh U-Turn After Retired Military Officer's "Occupy Northeast" Call
Provocative comments continue to pour in from Bangladesh. Weeks after Muhammad Yunus' "chicken's neck" remark drew a sharp response from the Northeast's leaders, a retired Bangladesh officer has made a similar comment on the Indian region, referring to the soaring tensions between India and Pakistan over the Pahalgam terror attack.
Major General ALM Fazlur Rahman (retd), who once headed the Bangladesh Rifles (now known as Border Guards Bangladesh), has called on his government to occupy India's northeastern region if Delhi goes to war with Islamabad.
A senior Bangladesh official, however, trashed it as a remark made by the retired officer in his personal capacity. Shafiqul Alam, press adviser to Mr Yunus - the chief adviser to the Bangladesh government, said his comments did not reflect the government's views.
There has been no reaction yet from the Indian government.
At least 26 people were killed in the Pahalgam attack on April 22, souring relations with Pakistan, which is known for harbouring terrorism that targets India, especially Jammu and Kashmir. While both nations had taken diplomatic measures, several Pakistani leaders have made provocative comments calling for war.
Major General Rahman's remarks amid the ongoing India-Pakistan tensions reinforce his image as an anti-India voice in the neighbouring country.
The retired military officer is currently entrusted with a probe into the 2009 Pilkhana massacre in which 74 people, including military officers, were killed during a mutiny at the headquarters of the Bangladesh Rifles. In this capacity, his position is equivalent to an appellate division judge of Bangladesh's Supreme Court.
"If India attacks Pakistan, Bangladesh should occupy all northeastern states," he had written on Facebook in Bengali. Bringing China to play, he had said, "I think Bangladesh should talk to China about a joint military decision regarding this."
Bangladesh's foreign ministry was quick to distance the government from his remark.
"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," the ministry said in a statement.
Despite such clarifications, provocative statements from senior officials appointed by Muhammad Yunus have been regular since the Pahalgam attacks.
Asif Nazrul, the law adviser to the interim government, had made an objectionable and irresponsible statement on the Pahalgam massacre. Citing "misrepresentation", he had later deleted his Facebook post.
He recently met a terrorist, Harun Izhar, with known Lashkar-e-Taiba links in his office, setting off sharp reactions questioning Bangladesh's policy on terrorism. Nazrul later clarified that he only met Hefazat-e-Islam Leaders and claimed they are not associated with any terrorist organisation.
Major General Rahman's remark is also being seen as Muhammad Yunus' views on his government's ties with China. Weeks ago, Yunus had referred to India's northeast region as landlocked and invited China to expand in the region by propagating Bangladesh as "Guardian of the Ocean".
Muhammad Yunus' position as Chief Adviser is equivalent to that of Prime Minister in the interim setup in Bangladesh, where no election has been held since the August collapse of the Hasina government.
India had sharply reacted to his statement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivering a stern message during his one-on-one meeting with Muhammad Yunus on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok earlier this year.
PM Modi had suggested that Dhaka avoid "rhetoric that vitiates the environment".
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