India, May 2 -- A senior official appointed by Bangladesh's interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, has stirred controversy with a provocative suggestion: that Bangladesh should consider occupying seven states located in India's North East if New Delhi launches a military strike on Pakistan in response to the deadly Pahalgam terror attack.

The statement was made on Facebook by retired Major General ALM Fazlur Rahman, currently serving as chairperson of the National Independent Commission of Inquiry into the 2009 Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) massacre.

His remarks come amid cooling relations between Dhaka and New Delhi following the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August last year.

"If India attacks Pakistan...