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Gulf Insider
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Insider
Bangladesh's Increasing Alignment With China And Pakistan Could Imperil India's Great Power plans
Bangladeshi Major General (retired) A.L.M. Fazlur Rahman, who serves as chair of the National Independent Commission of Inquiry investigating the 2009 Bangladesh Rifles massacre, posted on Facebook that Bangladesh should occupy India's Northeastern States if India goes to war with Pakistan. He later explained that preparing for this scenario might deter India, which could in turn prevent Pakistan's possible defeat, thus averting the existential threat that India would then pose to Bangladesh. The incumbent government, which came to power after last summer's US-backed regime change, distanced itself from his post but the damage to bilateral trust was done. Rahman's words followed interim Bangladeshi leader Muhammad Yunus' scandalous comments about India's Northeastern States during a trip to China earlier this year. They were analyzed here at the time as a veiled threat to once again host Indian-designated terrorist-separatist groups if India doesn't make concessions to Bangladesh. This year's two territorial controversies thus far were preceded by Yunus' special assistant Mahfuj Alam sharing a provocative map on X in late December that made claims to surrounding Indian states, with these sequential developments altogether ringing alarm bells in Delhi about Dhaka's intentions. Although each were 'plausibly deniable' in that no official territorial claims were made, the trend is unmistakable, and it's that the new Bangladeshi authorities are weaponizing fears of this scenario. From their ultra-nationalist perspective, this is a pragmatic means to rebalance what they consider to be Bangladesh's lopsided relations with much larger India, but it risks backfiring by heightening Delhi's threat perceptions with all that entails. In the current context of India signaling that it might launch at least one surgical strike against Pakistan in retaliation for last month's Pahalgam terrorist attack, Indian military planners can't confidently rule out that Pakistan might coordinate its response with Bangladesh. To make matters worse, Rahman also wrote in his two posts that Bangladesh 'needs to start discussing a joint military system with China', which lays claim to India's Northeastern State of Arunachal Pradesh. Seeing as how there's always the possibility that another Indo-Pak war could lead to China intervening on Pakistan's side, which Indian military planners call the two-front war scenario, this latest twist could lead to a three-front war as the incumbent Bangladeshi government aligns closer with both against India. India already felt that it was becoming encircled by China over the past decade, but this might soon evolve into a siege mentality if ties with Bangladesh continue to worsen due to its officials' rhetoric. The new regional security system that's taking shape as Bangladesh de facto incorporates itself into the Sino-Pak nexus could decisively shift the balance of power against India. In response, India might intensify the military dimension of its strategic partnership with the US, albeit more on the US' terms than before. India cherishes its strategic autonomy, which is why it's thus far declined to participate in the US' multilateral containment of China, but that could change if the US informally makes more military-strategic support of India depend on this. Amidst its increasing encirclement that might soon evolve into a siege mentality as explained, India might feel that it has no choice but to concede to this so as to avoid being coerced into concessions by China, either scenario of which could imperil its Great Power plans.
The Wire
06-05-2025
- Politics
- The Wire
Bangladesh: Sheikh Hasina is Out but Her Legacy of State-Sponsored Violence Will Linger Much Longer
Menu हिंदी తెలుగు اردو Home Politics Economy World Security Law Science Society Culture Editor's Pick Opinion Support independent journalism. Donate Now Opinion Bangladesh: Sheikh Hasina is Out but Her Legacy of State-Sponsored Violence Will Linger Much Longer Nayel Rahman 36 minutes ago Bangladeshis inhabit a country that has normalised everything; where outrage is fleeting, where justice is cosmetic and where brutality becomes just another tool of governance – used, denied, and quietly rewarded. Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Photo: Russell Watkins/Department for International Development/Flickr. CC BY 2.0. Prior to her ousting, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presided over not just authoritarian entrenchment but a series of state-perpetrated mass killings that should have triggered national reckoning – and international condemnation. There were at least three major blood stains during her tenure: the indiscriminate firing on protesters following the Sayedee verdict in 2013, the brutal military crackdown at Shapla Chattar in May of the same year and the lethal suppression of demonstrators during the 'Long July' protests. Each of these episodes was marked by an open use of force against unarmed civilians, carried out by state security forces acting with apparent political direction – and without consequence. And then there was the Pilkhana attack. Though not ordered by her government, the gruesome massacre of army officers at the Bangladesh Rifles headquarters in 2009 remains shrouded in questions – most disturbingly, about what the state chose not to do. Whether through negligence, indifference or calculated political restraint, the regime's passivity in the face of that catastrophe stands as a form of complicity. What's more damning than the violence itself is the silence that followed. The silence of political parties too busy jockeying for power. The silence of civil society is too paralysed – or too compromised – to act. The silence of the public, disoriented by propaganda and repression, unsure where to turn. This collective failure has not merely emboldened Sheikh Hasina – it has licensed her. It has allowed her to unleash what now functions as a state-aligned militia, operating both in uniform and in plain clothes, to enforce loyalty through fear. Each act of state violence becomes easier, more open, more shameless. Bangladesh did not arrive at this moment by accident. We arrived here because the institutions meant to restrain power – press, parliament, protest – were dismantled, and because those with the means to resist often chose comfort over confrontation. There comes a point when inaction becomes complicity – Bangladesh was long past that point. How did we reach here? Sheikh Hasina's descent into open violence did not begin in Dhaka but it eventually arrived there, more brutal and brazen than ever before. What began with the quiet slaughter of protesters in peripheral towns after the Sayedee verdict was soon brought to the heart of the capital. The carnage came to Motijheel, the city's commercial centre, where armoured vehicles and tear gas became instruments of civic policy. Then it spread even further – to once-untouchable neighbourhoods, areas never meant to feel the sting of state brutality. In Baridhara, often referred to as Dhaka's 'Green Zone,' residents watched in horror as the road from Badda to Rampura transformed into a war zone. From balconies and drawing rooms, they saw their city overtaken by military-grade repression, like spectators to a siege they had thought only others would endure. In most functioning democracies, such bloodshed in peacetime would be enough to dissolve a ruling party – perhaps even to end its existence. The idea that a government could use lethal force so casually, and so publicly, would have sent it to the political graveyard. However, Bangladesh is not most democracies. Bangladeshis inhabit a country that has normalised everything; where outrage is fleeting, where justice is cosmetic and where brutality becomes just another tool of governance – used, denied, and quietly rewarded. The threshold for ethical revulsion has all but vanished, replaced by a culture where any instrument of repression can be justified if it serves political gain or financial interest. And this failure – this refusal – to hold perpetrators accountable cannot disappear with Sheikh Hasina's ouster. It will haunt us long even as she's gone. It will linger because impunity is infectious. When a state teaches its rulers that killing civilians carries no price, it invites the next strongman to do the same, only worse. By not punishing those responsible, by refusing to investigate, indict or even publicly shame them, we have all but invited the next autocrat to write their playbook from this one. The blood spilled in Motijheel, Rampura and beyond did not just mark the end of protests, it marked the beginning of a new kind of politics – one rooted in fear, executed through force, and immune to consequence. The danger now is not only in what has already been done but in what we have made possible. Nayel Rahman is a Dhaka-based political analyst. Make a contribution to Independent Journalism Related News Dhaka's Murshidabad Remarks Attempt to Deflect Attention From Its Internal Issues: MEA Daud Haider, Bangladesh's First Poet to be Exiled, Passes Away at 73 MEA Condemns Killing of Hindu Community Leader in Bangladesh, Urges Interim Govt to Protect Minorities Murshidabad Violence Not Just a Communal Clash but 'Deeply Organised': Fact-Finding Report From Balochistan to Kashmir, the Region's Unresolved Grievances Refuse To Stay Buried No Need to Protect Those Involved in Wrongdoing, Says SC in Manipur Tapes Hearing Two Years of Fire and Silence: Manipur in Pictures Not Just Murshidabad: Why Bengal's Muslim Community Has Quietly Been Protesting Against the Waqf Law After Two Years of Violence, People in Manipur's Relief Camps Ask Modi to Let Them Feel Like Indians View in Desktop Mode About Us Contact Us Support Us © Copyright. All Rights Reserved.
India.com
03-05-2025
- Politics
- India.com
Notorious Yunus aide says Bangladesh should seize India's Northeastern states if India attacks Pakistan
Dhaka: Tapped by Interim Government's Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus for a high-level role, Major General (Retd.) A L M Fazlur Rahman, a former Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) Director General, has sparked diplomatic ripples with an incendiary social media post which suggests that Bangladesh should ally with China to seize India's northeastern states if India retaliates against Pakistan over the recent Pahalgam terror attack. '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,' Rahman wrote. Rahman, who has pro-Pakistan leanings and is connected to radical Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) party, is notoriously remembered in India as one of the key figures in the ghastly killing of 16 BSF jawans at Boraibari along the Assam-Meghalaya -Bangladesh tri-junction on April 18, 2001. Rahman's recent overtly political appointment by the Yunus-led interim administration as Chairman of the National Independent Commission probing the 2009 Bangladesh Rifles mutiny at Pilkhana in which 74 people, including military officers, were killed during a mutiny has stirred controversy. His current position is equivalent to a judge of the Appellate Division of Bangladesh's Supreme Court. Rahman is a known 'anti-India' figure and has accused India of influencing affairs of Bangladesh. The interim government has quickly moved to disown the remarks. Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Friday, firmly distancing the government from Rahman's comments. '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,' it said. Fazlur Rahman's remarks are being seen as views of Yunus on his government's ties with China. During his visit to China in March, Yunus pitched for 'extension of the Chinese economy' and made the provocative remarks that with Northeast India being 'landlocked,' Dhaka is the 'only guardian of the ocean for all this region'. Since Yunus took over in August 2024, as many as 140 garment factories have shut down, with more than one lakh people losing their jobs. The largest textile industrial park, BEXIMCO has also been shut down. About 62 per cent of the steel Industry in Chattogram is at risk of closure. Production of critical products like steel rods, cement and urea fertiliser are severely disrupted, pushing Bangladesh economy into a deep crisis. Alarmingly, Bangladesh suffers the highest inflation rate of 9.35 per cent making matters worse. The political uncertainties created by Yunus's interim administration have deterred investment, stifled growth and constrained job creation in Bangladesh. There was a time when Bangladesh was emerging as one of the most promising economies in the world.
The Hindu
03-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
If India attacks Pakistan, Bangladesh should occupy Northeastern States: Muhammad Yunus' aide
A former Bangladesh Army officer and close aide of Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus has suggested that Dhaka should collaborate with China to occupy India's northeastern States if it attacks Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. Mr. Yunus' interim government on Friday (May 2, 2025) distanced itself from the remarks made by Major General (Retd.) ALM Fazlur Rahman on his social media account. In a Facebook post on Tuesday (April 29, 2025), Fazlur 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 added. Editorial | Timing and location: On Bangladesh Chief Adviser's remarks and China visit Fazlur was appointed by the Yunus-led interim government in December 2024 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 (May 2, 2025) 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." The government urged all concerned to refrain from associating the state with the personal views expressed by Fazlur, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported. 'Bangladesh remains firmly committed to the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, mutual respect, and the peaceful coexistence of all nations,' the Ministry said. Earlier in March, Chief Advisor Yunus, during his visit to China, had remarked that India's seven northeastern States, which share a nearly 1,600-km border with Bangladesh, are landlocked and have no way to reach the ocean except through his country. In his address at a business event in China, Mr. Yunus said Dhaka was the "only guardian" of the Indian Ocean in the region, as he invited Beijing to send goods through Bangladesh across the world. The comments did not go down well in New Delhi. It also drew sharp reactions from political leaders in India across party lines. Days after Mr. 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. Bangladesh has been using several Indian ports and airports for its exports to West Asia, Europe, and many other countries. India has exempted Bangladeshi exports to Nepal and Bhutan, as such trade facilitation is mandatory for landlocked countries under the framework of provisions of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). India-Bangladesh relation has nosedived after Mr. Yunus failed to contain attacks on minorities, especially Hindus, in that country after the fall of Sheikh Hasina's Awami League government in August last year.
NDTV
03-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
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".
