Dhaka, April 27 -- Foreign Advisor Touhid Hossain has said that Bangladesh must maintain contact with the Arakan Army, a rebel group that has taken control of Myanmar's western border regions, "out of necessity" for its own interests.

Responding to questions from journalists at the Foreign Ministry on Sunday, he said: "We have officially acknowledged that the situation along Bangladesh's border has changed, we cannot deny it. The entire stretch of our border with Myanmar is now under the control of non-state actors. The central government has no authority there."

"Therefore, in our own interest, we must maintain some form of communication. While we cannot engage in official communications with a non-state actor, it is not possible to re...