NEW DELHI: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina Gathered virtually for a bilateral summit on Thursday, beyond discussions on connectivity and infrastructure, a growing concern in India is the apparent resurgence of Islamist extremism in Bangladesh.
the Hasina Government is reactivating more than 80 terrorism-related cases against the extremist group Hefazat-e-Islam, whose radicalized new boss Junaid Babunagri has already smashed statues of the Sheikh Mujibur Rehman and threatened to take down others as well. Bangladesh Media Reports Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal as if to say, “Cases of terrorism cannot be postponed for long. The details of the cases are being checked. The government is determined to take action against the accused ”.
He acknowledged that the government has not been proactive against Hefazat and that “seven years have passed for various reasons, which is a mistake.” While the Hasina government has been proactive against terrorist groups affiliated with or inspired by al-Qaida, the Taliban, and the Islamic State terror group, Hefazat has escaped action, largely because the previous chief leaned in favor of the government. , and the government used it to attack the Jamaat. But the group has now turned against the government, raising concerns about whether Hasina will be able to deal with these elements. Hasina’s son, Joy Wajed, also issued a warning against Hefazat, calling them the new “carrerakars”.
“There is a group that has raised its head in an attempt to push back the country. They threaten to transform Bangladesh into Afghanistan. There was the Jamaat in 1971, and now Hefazat is becoming the new Razakar, ”he said. In his most recent pronouncements, Hefazat has demanded the closure of the Iskcon facilities in Bangladesh and the French embassy and declare the Ahmadiyas “non-Muslims.” The growth of the group comes at a time when Pakistan he is re-establishing his post in Bangladesh, with the return of an envoy to Dhaka after an extended period.
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