Narinjara News, 2 June,  2025 

The Bangladesh Army's Directorate of Public Relations (ISPR) has refuted claims from Indian media stating that Bangladesh intends to designate the border districts of Cox’s Bazar and Bandarban as Military Operations Zones (MOZs) to assist the Arakan Army and to ensure its border security. 

Bangladesh is set to announce a region along its southeastern border from Cox’s Bazar to Bandarban as a military operations area, according to Indian media. The ISPR has firmly rejected the reports, describing them as “completely false, baseless and deliberately fabricated”. 

The Northeast News (NN) from India reported on May 31 from Cox's Bazar, citing trustworthy sources, that a vast region stretching from Cox's Bazar to the Bandarban area near the Myanmar border is set to be designated as a "military operation zone" (MOZ). 

Establishing this zone would not only aid the Bangladesh Army’s intentions to assist the Arakan Army but would also effectively tackle the existing border security issues, the report stated. 

On Sunday, June 1, the ISPR released a statement dismissing the report. 

The Northeast News report regarding the “military operation zone” in southeastern Bangladesh was just a false claim, the statement said. 

The announcement indicated that the article released by Indian Northeast News with the title “Cox’s Bazar and Bandarban regions in Bangladesh to be declared as military operation zones” was “meant to disrupt Bangladesh's internal affairs and damage the reputation of the Bangladesh Army.” 

It stated that the report was a component of a "carefully orchestrated smear campaign." 

"The ISPR stated this kind of reporting is part of a smear campaign by certain Indian media outlets aimed at destabilizing Bangladesh's internal affairs and damaging the reputation of the military." 

The ISPR stated that the NN report, suggesting that "the Bangladesh Army is backing armed separatist factions," was a baseless and dangerous type of propaganda.