Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishanker has said, terrorist activities in country’s northeast region have declined because of India’s strategic land boundary pact with Bangladesh.
“Thanks to that land border agreement with Bangladesh, militants failed to get any shelter there. This stopped them from carrying out their operations in the North East,” he said during an interaction with an audience in Vadodara city of western state of Gujarat on Saturday (October 1, 2022) evening.
Bangladesh and India signed the and boundary agreement in June, 2015 during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s maiden official visit to Dhaka, resolving a 41-year-old issue that had been a major irritant in bilateral ties.
What Indian External Affairs Minister missed to mention is, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government has actually played vital role in dismantling bases of insurgents and terrorists which were continuing terrorist acts within India’s northeast region. Should there wasn’t Sheikh Hasina’s government in Bangladesh, only land-boundary pact would have no impact at all in the current decline in terrorist activities and insurgency in India.
It may be mentioned here that, during the rule of coalition government comprising Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) insurgency and terrorist groups in the northeast region in India were not only allowed to continue notoriety using Bangladeshi soil, they also were enjoying direct patronization of the BNP-Jamaat Islamist regime, while Pakistan spy agency Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) were getting direct help from the Bangladesh government in passing weapons and explosives through the bordering areas. The BNP-Jamaat Islamist regime was supplying huge volume of weapons and explosives to United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and other insurgency outfits.
But now, policymakers in India, including Mr. S Jaishanker should feel worried as Bangladesh is heading towards another general elections which is scheduled to take place in January 2024.
According to media reports, Islamic political parties such as Bangladesh Islami Front, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Zeker Party, Jamiyat-e-Ulamaye Islam Bangladesh, Bangladesh Nejamey Islami Party, Bangladesh Supreme Party, Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan and Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish are taking preparations with the ambition of emerging as the major factor in the next parliament. Meanwhile, pro-Caliphate Hefazat-e-Islam (HeI), which has strong vote bank within madrassa teachers and students although is not yet registered with the Bangladesh Election Commission as a political party is also having secret negotiations with several Islamic parties with the target of filing its own candidates in at least 100 constituencies. It may be mentioned here that, Hefazat-e-Islam has connections with several militancy outfits including Al Qaeda franchise Ansar Al Islam.
BNP is frantically pursuing several Islamic parties to boycott the next general elections unless it is held under non-party caretaker government. Bangladesh Nationalist Party is also seeking support from the Islamic parties in disrupting the 2024 general elections and is making promises of giving “significant number of seats” and “important ministries”, if those Islamic parties can help BNP in winning the next general elections.
BNP leaders also are pursuing leaders of Hefazat-e-Islam to stand behind it in the “upcoming anti-government movement”, while it has also made pledges of implementing “several demands” of HeI towards enforcing “moderate sharia rule” in Bangladesh, once it wins the 2024 general elections. Similarly, military dictator Hussein Muhammed Ershad’s Jatiya Party also is trying to form alliance with Islamic forces, including HeI.
Islamist forces in Bangladesh are not leaving any stone unturned in their demonic ambition of grabbing power in Bangladesh with the help of BNP.
For the sake of regional peace and stability, until now, there is no alternative to Sheikh Hasina and Awami League. Global powers such as the United States and regional powers such as India need extend all-out cooperation to Sheikh Hasina in stopping Islamists from coming to power in Bangladesh.
