Bangladesh: South Asia's next 'bloody battlefield'?

New Delhi: Since 5th August 2024, when former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted, extremist Islamist groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir (HuT) have been freely carrying out terrorist activities in Bangladesh under Muhammad Yunus-led interim government. Under the banner of 'Tawhidi Janata,' a reign of terror by mobs has been established across Bangladesh. The fear of terrorism is further intensifying as Jama'at-e-Islami (JeI) and Jihadi students plan to form an armed militia under the banner of the 'Islamic Revolutionary Army'. This not only threatens Bangladesh's stability, but also the security of neighbouring India and the larger South Asian region.

With logistical and military aid from Turkey and Pakistani intelligence agency ISI, the geopolitics of the region has turned dangerous. The 'Islamic Revolutionary Army' began forming on 20th December, 2024, under the banner of 'Anti-Discrimination Student Movement,' funded and patronized by several former US leaders and George Soros. Taking advantage of the cancellation of previous security clearances for Pakistani citizens or people of Pakistani origin to enter Bangladesh, militants from ISI, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and other groups also started infiltrating Bangladesh.

At the same time, Bangladesh has purchased Bayraktar TB2 Drones, Otokar Kobra IMVs, mine-resistant MRAPs, light armoured combat vehicles-RN-94 armored ambulances, TRG-300 Tiger MLRS, and TRG-230 Surface-to-Surface Missiles (SSMs), artillery systems, energy weapons, and small arms from Turkey, and international intelligence sources indicate that multiple military deals have been made during these 'transactions.' The purchase of such weapons and equipment suggests far-reaching objectives of these new Islamists in Bangladesh and a long-term blueprint for South Asian security. Bangladesh is now in talks with Turkey to build defence industrial complexes in Chattogram and Narayanganj.

Haluk Gorgun, Secretary of Turkish Defence Industries, Savunma Sanayii Başkanı (SSB), is scheduled to visit Dhaka on July 8. During his stay, Gorgun is scheduled to meet Bangladesh Army Chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman, Navy Chief Admiral Mohammad Nazmul Hasan and Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan besides paying a courtesy call on Yunus.

Coming shortly after the Iran-Israel conflict, the visit holds significant diplomatic weight. It aims to further bolster bilateral defence cooperation, with discussions expected on training, technology transfer, arms procurement, and joint investment. Since 2018, Bangladesh-Turkey defence relations have seen major progress. Ankara is planning to strengthen its presence in Bangladesh at the strategic level.

Earlier this year, Turkey’s Trade Minister Omer Bolat led a large delegation to Dhaka on January 9 and discussed technology transfer, energy issues, infrastructure and investment in the defence sector, logistics, mining, e-commerce and clean energy with Bangladeshi officials. Gorgun's upcoming visit is seen as a crucial step in advancing strategic partnerships and enhancing Bangladesh’s defence capabilities through foreign investment.

Under the leadership of Yunus, those radical Islamist groups which were banned during the Awami League era are having a free run. These include Hizb ut-Tahrir (HuT), Hefazat-e-Islam (HeI), Jama'at-e-Islami(JeI), and Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), also known as Ansar-al Islam Bangladesh. Since August 2024, the Yunus administration has released convicted Islamist terrorists and unleashed jihadis on the streets to commit widespread violence against minorities, primarily Hindus. In 2024, over 2,200 incidents of violence against Hindus were reported in Bangladesh. The primary goal of these extremist Islamist organisations is to form a global Islamic caliphate. Analysts believe that if this Islamic takeover succeeds in Bangladesh, the country will turn into another terrorist state like Afghanistan under the Taliban and Syria under its new leader Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa.

HuT is an international Islamist movement that seeks to unite Muslims under an Islamic caliphate. HuT members have been involved in violent activities in multiple countries. This group is banned in at least 13 countries, including many Muslim-majority nations. HuT operates in over 40 countries, and despite being banned in Bangladesh, it is rapidly growing and organizing in the changed circumstances. Under Yunus's un-elected, illegitimate regime, Islamist hardliners and convicted terrorists have been released from prison. On August 31, Mamunul Haque, a leader of HeI, another group working to establish an Islamic Sharia state in Bangladesh, was released from prison.

Taking advantage of the existing extreme polarisation in the country, the jihadist groups dominate Bangladesh's political landscape today. On March 7, thousands of members of Bangladesh's banned Islamist militant group HuT defied police cordon and marched on the streets of Dhaka, demanding the establishment of an Islamic caliphate. The crowd present at the rally turned violent, throwing stones and clashing with police. The 'March for Khilafat' rally in Dhaka was supported by some of the advisors in the interim government, such as Asif Nazrul, Nahid Islam, Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan, and Mahfuz Alam. Nasimul Gani, one of the founding members of the HuT was appointed as the Home Secretary.

Yunus' government also released Jashimuddin Rahmani, the head of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist organisation Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT). Rahmani, who was imprisoned for the murder of blogger Rajib Haider, was released on parole. ABT is trying to establish a Jihadi network in Bangladesh with the help of sleeper cells. When the Sheikh Hasina government banned ABT in Bangladesh in May 2015, ABT rebranded itself as 'Ansar al-Islam' and was banned again in 2017.

It is relevant to point out that on March 31, Michael Rubin, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and former Pentagon official stated in a 'Washington Examiner' report: "Declare Bangladesh's Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) a Foreign Terrorist Organization".

JeI is a hardline Islamist party deeply involved in terrorism. Its founder, Sayyid Abul Al'a Maududi, wanted to create a more conservative Islamist country by rejecting both Western and liberal democracies, much like the Muslim Brotherhood. Within Bangladesh, pro-Pakistani JeI was particularly brutal. It was closely involved in the 1971 Bangladesh Genocide, which resulted in the deaths of over three million people. For this reason, members of JeI are considered war criminals in Bangladesh.

After Adolf Hitler's Nazi party, JeI was the second political party to face an international tribunal for its crimes. Nevertheless, JeI still receives active support from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Agency.

Since Sheikh Hasina's departure, Yunus has imprisoned over 1000 journalists and filed murder charges against several of them so that he can rule without accountability. Yunus and Bangladesh JeI, with the support of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), conspired to ban Awami League activities.

Michael Rubin further states in his report: "American policymakers and diplomats issue anti-terrorism statements, but they do not strongly emphasize that JeI is ideologically involved in terrorism." He also says, "JeI is a terrorist organization. The State Department should designate Jamaat as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Under Executive Order 13224, signed by President George W. Bush, the Treasury Secretary should also identify and seize the group's assets and properties. Instead of treating a group responsible for genocide in Bangladesh and for strengthening Al-Qaeda as an ordinary political party, President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio should not be as negligent and foolish as Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, but rather judge JeI as a deadly and ideologically driven terrorist group like Hamas or Al-Qaeda."

Meanwhile, Turkey is also rapidly expanding its influence in the Islamic world. Under President Erdogan, the country is now interfering big time in South Asia, especially by signing defence agreements with Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Turkish troops are now stationed in at least 11 foreign countries — such as Syria, Iraq, Qatar, Northern Cyprus, Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, and Azerbaijan. Having signed important security and military agreements with four countries — Iraq, Somalia, Bulgaria, and Romania - Ankara has also begun new defence deals with Pakistan and Bangladesh in January 2025.

The pan-Islamist and expansionist Turkish regime has begun interfering in the internal affairs of South Asian countries, hoping to exploit internal divisions of states to establish a firm foothold for its neo-imperialist project. Bangladesh is widely hosting Turkish officials who shamelessly sought military, economic, and food aid from Turkey.

Bangladesh has already become Turkey's fourth-largest market for military products and has purchased Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs, most of which have been sold to war-torn countries like Ukraine, Syria, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Azerbaijan.

Many Rohingya youth sheltered in refugee camps are also preparing for 'jihad' and 'war.' A young man in the Ukhia camp said, "They are telling us to achieve independence in our own country through war. Everyone is ready for jihad. For this, everyone is working together with the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), and Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO)".

All these signs indicate more trouble, not just for Bangladesh but the entire region.

(The writer is an expert on South Asia and Eurasia. He was formerly with Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. Views expressed are personal)

--IANS

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