Terrorism in Bangladesh: The interim government led by Muhammad Yunus has reportedly started the process of acquitting dismissed Bangladesh Army Major Syed Zia-ul-Haq. He is linked to Al Qaeda and is wanted by the US.
In December 2021, the US State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, through its Rewards for Justice (RFJ) office, offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Haq (aka Major Zia) and Akram Hussain. Was.
Both of them, along with four other persons, were found involved in the terrorist attack in Dhaka in February 2015. In this, American citizen Avijit Roy was killed and his wife Rafida Bonya Ahmed was seriously injured.
The two Bangladeshi-born American citizens were in Dhaka to attend a book fair when they were attacked by knife-wielding attackers. Roy died, while Ahmed was seriously injured.
According to the US State Department, Ansarullah Bangla Team, an Al Qaeda-inspired terrorist group based in Bangladesh, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Zia, who later reportedly fled to Pakistan, was also being searched by Bangladeshi authorities. In 2016, a reward of Tk 2 million was announced to find him in the murder cases of Foysal Arefin Dipon of Jagruti Prakashan and Julhas-Tonoy of Kalabagan. Earlier, in 2011, he had also played a major role in a failed coup.
Recently, the mandatory security clearance policy for Pakistani nationals seeking visas was widely relaxed. Due to this, a few weeks ago Jiya got the facility to return to Dhaka on Pakistani passport.
The report said that, soon after her return, Zia formally applied to be acquitted of all charges and to be removed from the ‘most-wanted’ list on December 29, 2024. He demanded quashing of all convictions and withdrawal of the reward.
Local media reported that Justice Mainul Islam Chowdhury, head of the Bangladesh International Criminal Tribunal for the Disappearances Committee (ICT-BD), which will investigate the entire case, is Zia’s father-in-law.
The interim government of Bangladesh is constantly being accused of fanning fundamentalist forces. After the fall of Sheikh Hasina government in August last year, there are continuous reports of targeting of minorities and their religious places in the country.
Prominent Bangladeshi journalist Salahuddin Shoaib Chowdhury wrote in BLITZ, “The Yunus administration has previously acquitted other Islamists, such as Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) leader Jashimuddin Rahmani. Following his release, Rahmani publicly criticized India These actions raised concerns about Bangladesh’s commitment to counter-terrorism. And have created fears of the country becoming a center of extremist activities.”
According to Chaudhary, the Yunus administration’s decision to accept Zia’s release request will have far-reaching consequences, which could turn Bangladesh into a launchpad for terrorists and destabilize the entire region. This can also cause serious damage to the country’s deteriorating reputation at the international level.
Analysts believe Yunus is pushing Bangladesh into deeper chaos and disorder, which could lead to severe sanctions on the country, especially after the new US administration led by Donald Trump takes charge in Washington later this month.
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