Bangladesh does not foresee any possibility of war with India under any circumstances, Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain has said, expressing surprise at a comment made by Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh.
He was replying to questions at the foreign ministry on Sunday.
When asked whether India's defense minister Rajnath Singh's call to its armed forces to remain prepared, in light of the situation in Europe and Bangladesh, was a cause for concern for Bangladesh, he said: "I am more surprised than worried."
"Why did he ( Rajnath Singh) say this? I don’t see any reason for it. I do not think in any circumstance that there is a possibility of war with India. We need to understand if he said this for internal consumption in his own country. The way he said that it's like beating around the bush. Because, given the war in Ukraine, I don’t see any reason for India to prepare for war. What does India's situation have to do with the issues surrounding Hamas? How can Bangladesh be compared to Ukraine or Hamas? This is beyond my understanding. I don’t want to react. We will certainly look into why he said this," the adviser said.
When asked whether such a statement poses a threat to Bangladesh, he responded: "I still believe that he said this due to internal conflicts within his own country. Therefore, I do not wish to make any assumptions."
When asked whether they have contacted India regarding this issue, the advisor said: "I don’t want to say anything on this matter at the moment. Let’s leave it at that for now. I’ve already mentioned that we don’t wish to react immediately. We will certainly observe what’s happening and why it’s happening."
Replying to a question about a tweet stating that India would offer political asylum to Sheikh Hasina and issue a travel pass for her to visit various countries, the foreign affairs adviser said: “Naturally, any country can offer political asylum to anyone. Whether it should be done in this case is something to consider, and we will look into it.”
When asked if Bangladesh would protest if political asylum were granted, he said: “Let’s see. If that situation arises, and you ask questions, we will respond.”
