Yunus Gifts Map Showing India’s Northeast As Part Of Bangladesh To Pakistani General, Sparks Controversy

Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus has triggered a fresh diplomatic controversy after gifting a Pakistani general a map that depicts India’s northeastern states as part of Bangladesh, reported India Today.

The incident occurred during a recent visit to Dhaka by Pakistan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee chairperson, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, amid signs of improving ties between the two nations since the 1971 Liberation War.

On Sunday (26 October), Yunus shared photos of his meeting with Mirza on social media. One image showed him presenting a book titled Art of Triumph, whose cover carried a distorted map marking Assam and other northeastern states as Bangladeshi territory.

The image drew immediate outrage online, with several analysts accusing Yunus of encroaching on India’s sovereign domain. India’s Ministry of External Affairs has not yet commented on the controversy.

The uproar comes as relations between India and Bangladesh remain tense under Yunus, who assumed power in August 2024 following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government after violent student protests.

This is not the first time Yunus has made remarks about India’s northeast. During his April 2025 visit to China, he called Bangladesh the “only guardian of the ocean” for the region, saying, “The seven states of India, the eastern part of India... they are a landlocked country. They have no way to reach out to the ocean.”

India has since cancelled a transshipment deal with Bangladesh and reaffirmed the strategic importance of its northeastern region. Analysts suggest Yunus’s repeated references to India’s northeast reflect Dhaka’s shifting alignment toward Pakistan and China.

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