Bangladesh has concluded its five days long “Operation Twilight” by army para commandos at a militant den in Shibbari area of Sylhet. Director of Military Intelligence Brig Gen Fakhrul Ahsan formally announced the closure of the operation at the militant hideout where four suspected militants were killed. Bangladesh security forces were trying to flush out militants from Atia Mahal, a residential building in Pathanpara area in Sylhet’s Shibbari, since the night of March 24, 2017. The militants have not been identified yet. However, unconfirmed sources say they are members of New Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (JMB) which is an Islamic terrorist organisation operating in Bangladesh. It was founded in April 1998 with the aim is to replace the government of Bangladesh with an Islamic State based on Sharia.
The Bangladesh Government seems not capable to distinguishing between political rivalry and a genuine advent of global Islamic terrorist organizations like the ISIS on its soil.
Earlier Bangladesh had witnessed a horrific attack on innocent civilians in an upscale bakery in a posh section of Dhaka killing 22 persons, mainly foreigners . Islamic terrorists in Bangladesh have killed Hindus, Muslim secular writers, publishers, and bloggers for raising their voices against extremist ideology.
Since September 2015, the ISIS has taken responsibility for 28 such attacks in Bangladesh. Media reports suggested that the ISIS had claimed responsibility for Sylhet attack. However, Bangladesh’s Government has refused to accept the involvement of either ISIS or Al-Qaeda for the attacks and has rather blamed the main opposition party for its complicity. It also criticized the secular writers for misinterpreting Islam, and thereby provoking the radical elements. This is extremely unfortunate and the Government seems to be. This approach has helped the consolidation of terrorist’s foothold and has led to the rise of religious extremism in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Government seems not capable to distinguishing between political rivalry and a genuine advent of global Islamic terrorist organizations like the ISIS on its soil.
The sudden upsurge in the terrorist activities in Bangladesh is seen as a fallout of the hanging of both Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury, a senior opposition leader and former minister in Khaleda Zia’s government, and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid of the Jamaat-i-Islami party, who were involved in war crimes, especially the killing of Hindus, during the 1971 war of liberation. The Government has been accused of arresting thousands of people in the name of militant activities to silence its political opponents. Also Sheikh Hasina’s Government is seen as an authoritarian, muzzling the press and arresting intellectuals who have been critical of the government’s repressive policies.
However, the most likely reason is the growth of ‘madrasas’ funded by Saudi Arab. These schools indoctrinate young, impressionable minds with an extremist ideology that is at variance with the teachings of Islam. The Bangladesh Government could do virtually nothing to prevent these ‘madarsas’ from imparting such religious dogmas as do not respect other religions.
The study found that 87 per cent of rural students who received such offers think that terrorist activities are justified.
The ISIS, which has been facing reverses in Syria and Iraq has managed to expand its reach in South Asia and made its bases in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. It is apparent that the South Asian Countries, particularly India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are witnessing a sharp increase in the Islamic terrorist attacks , be it Peshawar or Pathankot or Dhaka. The pattern and intent is the same, guided by the fanatical zeal of establishing Islamic state based on Wahabi school of Sharia. The Bangladeshi government refuses to accept that ISIS has infiltrated the country.
The South Asian Terrorism Portal writes in its Bangladesh Report of 2017 that “there is the threat of increasing radicalization, as significant numbers of youth appear to be attracted to the movements of global jihad. Research conducted by East West University, Dhaka, concluded, on November 21, 2016, that one in every 10 university students in Bangladesh supports terrorism.
The study found more than half (51.7 percent) of those students who support terrorism were from well-off families. In terms of age groups, and 54.7 percent of those who share such radical ideas were aged between 18 and 25 years. Similarly, Non-Government Organisation (NGO) Shopner Desh, which conducted a preliminary research project on the impact of militancy, disclosed, on December 20, 2016, that most rural students believe terrorist propaganda. Some 20-25 per cent of Districts in Bangladesh were at risk of terrorist activities and the tendency is significant among students of village and rural level educational institutes, where some 26 per cent of students have received offers to join terrorist activities, the new study revealed. The study also found that 87 per cent of rural students who received such offers think that terrorist activities are justified”.
Bangladesh is an ideal breeding ground for Islamic extremism.
Bangladesh is an ideal breeding ground for Islamic extremism. A history of bloody transfer of power, army rule , political islamisation by General Irshad, bitter political rivalry between two mainstream party, strong roots of Jamat –e- Islami , the growing youth bulge – more than 40 percent of the population is in the18 to 39-year-old age group – and the widening gap between the rich and poor, with massive 45 percent unemployment among educated youths. According to UNICEF, 7.4 million children aged between five and 17 are working as domestic servants, agricultural and factory labourers in Bangladesh.
On the international fora, suiting their geo political interests, countries have different interpretations of ‘terrorist’ activities. Only last year the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) in its 13th summit held in Istanbul (Turkey) on 14-15 April, 2016, had reaffirmed its ‘principled support’ for the people of J&K and demanded plebiscite. Even Bangladesh which had then recently went through a ghastly carnage at Dhaka by the Islamic terrorists, was the part of the above OIC resolution. Such double standard on the question of ‘terrorism’ by Bangladesh is unfortunate.
There is a need of a concerted action against all those responsible for spreading hatred in society and all those who are committing crimes against humanity. But this is far from happening. Even the common definition of terrorism is yet to be made out by the United Nations.
The South Asian countries must realize that even after enforcing counter-terrorism strategies, there is no guarantee that Sylhet or Dhaka type attacks can be stopped.
Pakistan is, no doubt, launching attack on Afghani Taliban but at the same encouraging Kashmiri terrorists. Bangladesh is fighting Islamic militancy in its soil but has been pushing infiltrators , smugglers and illegal trade across the border on Indian soil. These three countries were supposed to act in tandem when enemy is one. Intelligence sharing is required and so is the commitment to not let its territory used for terrorist activities in other countries. But this entails mutual trust and cannot succeed when the intelligence agencies indulge in perpetrating and customizing themselves as the launching pads for terrorist attacks in other country.
The South Asian countries must realize that even after enforcing counterterrorism strategies, there is no guarantee that Sylhet or Dhaka type attacks can be stopped. At least an united effort can lift the morale of people and security forces. There is no foolproof system to preempt all attacks, but an all out counter attack an exchange of intelligence will definitely help these countries to mitigate the damage caused by such attack.
And lastly Pakistan must act on the terrorist groups operating from its soil against India because sooner or later these very groups will haunt them too in future and they may be experiencing it by now.
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