In a provocative and incendiary statement that underscores Bangladesh's shifting geopolitical tone following Sheikh Hasina’s ousting in August last year, A.L.M. Fazlur Rahman, former Director General of the now-renamed Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and currently serving as the chairperson of the National Independent Commission of Inquiry—set up by the Muhammad Yunus-led government to probe the 2009 BDR mutiny—publicly advocated for military aggression against India and a strategic alliance with China.
In a Facebook post visible to all users on Thursday, Rahman asserted that if India were to launch a military offensive against Pakistan, Bangladesh should retaliate by occupying India’s seven north-eastern states. He further urged Dhaka to initiate talks with Beijing regarding a joint military arrangement to prepare for such a scenario.
"If India attacks Pakistan, Bangladesh should seize India’s north-eastern region. A coordinated military pact with China is essential under such circumstances," wrote Rahman, who is known to have close ties with Pakistan’s infamous intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
The post, which carries unmistakable signs of a warlike declaration, was endorsed by Shahnawaz Khan Chandan, a fellow commission member and former leader of Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami. Chandan, now an assistant professor at Jagannath University in Dhaka, reportedly liked the post, thereby lending intellectual and ideological support to Rahman’s inflammatory proposal.
Rahman’s remarks come amid rising Indo-Pakistani tensions in the aftermath of the Pahelgam massacre and represent an alarming escalation in rhetoric from individuals linked to the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government.
Since replacing the Hasina regime, the administration has adopted a noticeably more confrontational stance towards New Delhi.
In his post, Rahman also launched a fierce critique of India’s domestic policies, particularly the National Register of Citizens (NRC), which he described as a sinister conspiracy to detain, disenfranchise, and expel Muslims into Bangladesh and Pakistan. He additionally denounced the amended Waqf Act, calling it a covert attempt to close mosques across India.
Doubling down on his militaristic rhetoric, Rahman wrote: “The capture of India’s seven north-eastern states in concert with China would constitute a legitimate regional and global counter-response to any Indian aggression against Pakistan.”
He concluded his post with a pointed rebuke directed at his detractors: “Those who lack the necessary expertise in military strategy should refrain from making irrelevant comments on matters of such strategic gravity.”
Rahman and the 1999 BDR-BSF Clash: A Dark Chapter in India-Bangladesh Relations
In 1999, a grim episode unfolded along the Indo-Bangladeshi border in Tripura and Assam’s Barak Valley, significantly straining diplomatic relations between the two neighbouring countries.
At the centre of the controversy was Major General Rahman, then serving as the Director General of the BDR—now known as the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).
Under General Rahman’s command, the BDR allegedly undertook an aggressive and unprecedented action. Indian intelligence sources later claimed it was an operation influenced by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
BDR forces reportedly launched an unprovoked and brutal offensive that resulted in the deaths of several Border Security Force (BSF) personnel. This incident, often referred to in Indian security circles as a massacre, shocked New Delhi and triggered a diplomatic crisis.
India viewed the assault not merely as a border skirmish but as a deliberate provocation, allegedly carried out with foreign support. The Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government, which held power at the time, faced immediate pressure from India to take responsibility and respond.
In an effort to defuse the crisis and restore bilateral trust, Rahman was swiftly removed from his post as DG of the BDR by the Hasina administration.
However, the repercussions did not end there. When the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) later came to power, the new government went further by dismissing Rahman from service altogether—an attempt to distance itself from his controversial actions and signal to India its desire for a reset in relations.
The episode remains one of the most serious in the history of India-Bangladesh relations since the latter’s independence. It highlighted the fragility of trust along the shared border and the enduring geopolitical tensions that continue to influence the security landscape of South Asia.
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