‘India Must Break Into Pieces For Peace’: Bangladesh’s Ex-Army Officer Sparks Massive Row

Bingalas Brigadaded Geraladdal) Abdullah Azmi

Brigadier General (retd) Abdullahil Amaan Azmi, a former Bangladeshi army general and son of former Jamaat-e-Islami chief Ghulam Azam, sparked a controversy after he suggested that Bangladesh would not see “complete peace” unless India “breaks into pieces”.

Speaking during an event at the National Press Club in Dhaka, Azmi said, “Bangladesh will not see full peace as long as India does not break into pieces.” He further claimed that New Delhi “always keeps unrest alive” inside the country.

Azmi is the son of Ghulam Azam, the infamous former Jamaat-e-Islami chief and a convicted war criminal responsible for the genocide of Hindus and pro-liberation Bengalis during the 1971 Liberation War.

The former army officer also accused India of fuelling unrest from 1975 to 1996 in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region in southeastern Bangladesh, bordering India. “During the Sheikh Mujibur Rahman government, the Parbatya Chattogram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS) was formed. Its armed wing was the Shanti Bahini. India sheltered them, provided arms and training, which led to bloodshed in the hills from 1975 to 1996,” he claimed.

Criticising the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord signed in 1997, Azmi alleged that the surrender of arms by the Shanti Bahini was “only for show”.

The remarks of Azmi, a controversial figure in Bangladesh known for criticising India, come at a sensitive time when India and Bangladesh are attempting to reset ties following a strain in relations after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government.

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