A number of police and intelligence sources said although HuJi has been banned, they have not received any instruction from the government to launch any drive to nab HuJi leaders and activists.

The HuJi Bangladesh top brass includes Shaikhul Hadith Allama Azizul Haq, also chief of a faction of ruling alliance partner Islami Oikyo Jote (IOJ), Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish second-in-command Muhammad Habibur Rahman of Sylhet, Ataur Rahman Khan of Kishoreganj, Sultan Jaok of Chittagong, Abdul Mannan of Faridpur and Habibullah of Noakhali. All of them are involved with different Islamic organisations and madrasas, and one of them, Ataur Rahman Khan, was elected an MP with BNP ticket in 1991 from Kishoreganj-3.

In an interview a few years back, Habibur Rahman disclosed those names, with whom he had travelled to Afghanistan via Pakistan in 1988, visited some Talibani militant camps and also met al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

But, a top-ranking police official argued not every one in HuJi was involved in militant activities and said if they receive any specific charge of terrorist act against any HuJi member, they will take steps accordingly.

The government banned HuJi on October 17, with a home ministry note stating, "Harkat-ul Jihad Al Islami is a self-proclaimed terrorist organisation. Its activities are very sensitive and it is identified as a terrorist organisation". The government is declaring Harkat-ul Jihad Al Islami and all its activities banned on the basis of information received so far."

It may have some significance for the apparent government reluctance to go tough on HuJi members that on October 6, eleven days before the ban came, Shaikhul Hadith and Habibur Rahman had met Prime Minister Khaleda Zia posing as 'Islamic scholars'. The two were accompanied by Moulana Obaedul Haq, IOJ lawmaker Mufti Shahidul Islam, Ashraf Ali, Abdur Rab Yusufi, Yusuf Ashrafi, Nezamuddin, Mohammad Humayun Kabir and Tafazzul Haq Aziz.

REVEALING INTEREVIEW OF HABIBUR RAHMAN
The names of the prominent HuJi-linked people can be found in a bulletin titled 'Islami Biplob (Islamic revolution), published on August 20, 1998 from Sylhet with the express purpose to celebrate "the total victory of Talibans and establishment of an Islamic state in Afghanistan".

The bulletin in its front page ran an interview of Habibur Rahman, in which he gave a detailed account of his visit to Afghanistan in 1988. He said, "An invitation from Harkat-ul Jihad Al Islami made it possible for me to make the fortunate trip to Afghanistan... Those of us who visited the Afghan war-fields during that trip were Shaikhul Hadith.... Ataur Rahman Khan... Sultan Jaok... Abdul Mannan... Habibullah... and myself -- in total nine people."

In Pakistan, leaders of the local chapter of HuJi greeted the nine members of the Bangladeshi team and took them to the HuJi Karachi office. Habibur said HuJi Pakistan chief Saifullah Akhtar and a Bangladeshi Mujahedin Abdur Rahman Shahid drove them to an Afghan Mohajir (literally, refugee) camp on the Pak-Afghan border. They stayed at the camp and visited some injured Mujahedins and an Islamic cadet college, where the cadets received them with a guard of honour.

Abdur Rahman then drove them to the residence of top Mujahedin leader Abde Rabbir Rasul Saiaf, the narration goes on. The house was defended like a fort with anti-aircraft cannons and armed guards.

While still in Pakistan and on their way to Afghanistan, the next day the Bangladeshi team visited a special Mujahedin training camp and met about a dozen Bangladeshi young Mujahedins led by one Abdul Quddus. They watched youths from different countries taking military training on a mountainous terrain. The arms they were being trained to operate included rocket launchers.

That night Habibur Rahman shared his meal of dry cold bread with "a handsome young Arab". He said, "When I inquired after his identity, I was told he was Osama bin Laden, a son of one of the richest Saudi families."

The next day they entered Afghanistan and arrived at a Mujahedin cantonment on a mountaintop. They visited an armoury inside a tunnel. They were informed that some Russian forces were in position nearby and that every one must prepare to fight.

"All of us were given Kalashnikov (AK-47) rifles," he said, adding they stayed the night at the camp, while a Mujahedin team advanced towards the enemy position and engaged in a skirmish. The following day they started their return journey.

In the interview, Habibur asserted that the only way to change the fate of Bangladesh was the Taliban one.

Habibur is also the convenor of Sahaba Sainik Parishad and founding principal of Jameya Madania Islamia, a madrasa at Kazir Bazar, Sylhet.

TRACK OF HUJI IN BANGLADESH
HuJi made its first public appearance in Bangladesh in April 1992 through a press conference organised by a group of Afghan war veterans. However, HuJi says the first Bangladeshi Mujahedin group had been formed in 1984 by Commander Abdur Rahman, who later died in the Afghan War in 1989.

Intelligence reports to the government in late 2000 named some of the HuJi leaders. One of the reports said HuJi Dhaka City chief Shawkat Osman alias Sheikh Farid is a brother of Khulna City IOJ Member Secretary Mufti Shakhawat Hossain. At that time -- January 1999 -- Shawkat Osman was in Dubai at a safe haven. The report also mentioned Chittagong IOJ leader Mufti Ejaharul Islam's link with HuJi. Ejaharul was then absconding in Pakistan.

Law enforcers and intelligence officials involved in investigations into terrorist activities told The Daily Star that although HuJi has been banned, they are yet to receive any specific directive from the government to arrest any HuJi leader.

Inspector General of Police MA Qaiyum tried to justify the inaction, saying, "Not every one in HuJi was involved in militant activities. We are gathering information about those who have been involved with HuJi and with terrorist activities."

"If we get any specific charge of terrorist act against anyone [of HuJi], we will take appropriate measures," he said, adding, "if someone was involved in terrorist acts in the past, there definitely will be cases against them. We are also looking for such cases."

Sources said Mufti Hannan, operations commander of HuJi Bangladesh, was arrested on October 1 of not made for his HuJi connection. He was but as one of the prime suspects for the August 17 orchestrated bomb blasts across the country. He is now under police remand.

Hannan was reportedly trained in Peshawar in Pakistan and went to Afghanistan to fight the Soviet occupation forces. A diary of Hannan's brother recovered by law enforcers also indicates Huji having links with Pakistan.

There are four cases filed in 2000 against Mufti Hannan -- two with Gopalganj Police Station (PS) and two with Kotalipara. He was convicted for life-term imprisonment in one of the cases filed with Gopalganj PS under the Arms Act. He is also the prime accused for the plot to assassinate the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina by launching a bomb attack on her meeting at Kotalipara.

Among all the Islamist militant groups in Bangladesh, HuJi was the highest-ranking one due to its vast international links. It had a countrywide Qaomi madrasa-based network and an estimated 15,000 to 25,000-strong manpower.