A diplomatic flutter has erupted after Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser to the interim government, Muhammad Yunus, gifted a coffee table book to Pakistan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza. The book, titled “Art of Triumph: Graffiti of Bangladesh’s New Dawn,” reportedly features on its cover an image resembling a map that appears to include parts of India within Bangladesh’s borders.

The meeting took place on Saturday at the State Guest House Jamuna in Dhaka, where both sides discussed trade, investment, and defence cooperation. While Dhaka has not issued an official clarification, several Bangladeshi social media users have insisted the image is an abstract depiction of the national flag, not a territorial map.

The controversy revives earlier tensions between India and Bangladesh. In December 2024, New Delhi had lodged a strong protest after a Bangladeshi official posted — and later deleted — a similar map claiming Indian territories. Muhammad Yunus himself drew criticism earlier this year for remarks inviting China to expand its influence in India’s northeast. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a meeting with Yunus in Bangkok, had then urged Dhaka to avoid rhetoric that could strain bilateral ties.

A diplomatic flutter has erupted after Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser to the interim government, Muhammad Yunus, gifted a coffee table book to Pakistan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza. The book, titled “Art of Triumph: Graffiti of Bangladesh’s New Dawn,” reportedly features on its cover an image resembling a map that appears to include parts of India within Bangladesh’s borders.

The meeting took place on Saturday at the State Guest House Jamuna in Dhaka, where both sides discussed trade, investment, and defence cooperation. While Dhaka has not issued an official clarification, several Bangladeshi social media users have insisted the image is an abstract depiction of the national flag, not a territorial map.

The controversy revives earlier tensions between India and Bangladesh. In December 2024, New Delhi had lodged a strong protest after a Bangladeshi official posted — and later deleted — a similar map claiming Indian territories. Muhammad Yunus himself drew criticism earlier this year for remarks inviting China to expand its influence in India’s northeast. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a meeting with Yunus in Bangkok, had then urged Dhaka to avoid rhetoric that could strain bilateral ties.