A gift from Bangladesh’s Chief Advisor to the interim government to Pakistan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, has stirred a row with netizens pointing out that the gift, a coffee table book, carried a purported map which shows parts of India as parts of Bangladesh.
The coffee table book titled ‘Art of Triumph, Graffiti of Bangladesh’s New Dawn’ has what looks like a map of Bangladesh on the cover, but some Bangladeshi X handles have claimed that the image is not a map but a painting of Bangladesh’s national flag, even though it resembles a map.
The book was presented by Muhammad Yunus to General Sahir Shamshad Mirza during their meeting in Dhaka on Saturday at the State Guest House in Dhaka.
Bangladesh has not officially commented on the row over the image.
“The visiting Chairman of Pakistan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, paid a courtesy call on Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the State Guest House Jamuna late Saturday. During the meeting, they discussed a wide range of issues concerning Bangladesh-Pakistan relations, including the growing importance of bilateral trade, investment, and defence cooperation,” the Chief Adviser said in a statement after the meeting with the Pakistani General.
In the past, India has flagged members of the interim administration sharing maps that claim Indian territory as part of Bangladesh.
In December 2024, India had lodged a strong protest with Dhaka over a deleted social media post by a key aide of Bangladesh’s interim government that claimed certain areas of Indian territory should be part of that country.
Mahfuz Alam, known for his provocative comments, had posted on Facebook a map purportedly showing parts of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam as parts of Bangladesh. He deleted the post after it triggered backlash.
At that time, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had reminded all concerned to be “mindful” of their public comments.
“We have taken this up with the Bangladeshi government. We have strongly registered a protest on this issue. We understand that the post being referred to has reportedly been taken down, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said at that time.
Earlier this year, Muhammad 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”, drawing a sharp response from India and rebuke from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had delivered 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”.
