Tarique urges restraint amid Bangladesh-India tensions

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman has called upon all Bangladeshis to show utmost restraint and not fall prey to any provocation amid the tension between Bangladesh and India.

"Since the fall of autocrat Sheikh Hasina, there is an increase of inflammatory media commentary and political rhetoric against Bangladesh coming from certain Indian quarters," he said in a post from his social media handle (X and Facebook) today.

Tarique Rahman expressed concern that there is now an echo chamber filled with misinformation, fuelling persistent anti-Bangladesh sentiment. 

"The latest attack on the Bangladeshi consulate in Agartala highlights the destabilising effects of disinformation, which only creates division and discord among neighbours," he said.

He also said international stakeholders must acknowledge that a destabilised Bangladesh, with near about 200 million people, is not in the interest of any country. 

"It is crucial to objectively understand what led to Hasina's ouster, what has been happening in Bangladesh since she fled to India, and why it's imperative to forge people-to-people ties between Bangladesh and India, beyond any particular person or political party," he added. 

The BNP acting chairman said Bangladesh faces many challenges, "but we have largely been, and will remain, a land of religious harmony and territorial sovereignty, where the rights and freedoms of every citizen are protected, irrespective of race, caste, and religion".