Dhaka, June 1 -- The Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) has strongly rejected a report published by Indian media claiming that Bangladesh is preparing to declare a "military operations zone" in its southeastern region.

The military's media wing described the report as "completely false, baseless, and intentional".

In a statement issued on Sunday, the ISPR said the article, titled "Bangladesh to declare Cox's Bazar to Bandarban area as a Military Operations Zone" and published by Indian news platform Northeast News, is part of a "well-planned smear campaign" aimed at destabilising Bangladesh internally and tarnishing the image of its armed forces.

"This type of report is part of a planned smear campaign by certain Indian...