And quiet flows the Ganges -- In the wrong direction
THE Burdwan blast has thrown a new light on the activities of religious extremists in our part of South Asia, particularly Bangladesh and the Indian state of Paschimbanga (PB). According to reports in the Indian media the persons killed while preparing IEDs were from Bangladesh and suspected JMB cadres. It is yet to be fully ascertained whether the dead persons are indeed from Bangladesh. One of the dead was married to an Indian and had been living in that country for the last seven or eight years. However, if the media reports are true then there are reasons for Bangladesh to be concerned on several counts.
It is clear that these extremists chose a more friendly space to plan actions against us. In fact the PB government is being accused by the centre for soft-peddling on the issue of extremisms and terrorism. Our anti-terrorist activity resulting in arrests and trial of a large number of their cadres had successfully stifled the extremists' existence and had compelled them to seek safer pastures across the border where they received safe sanctuary. And that the IEDs they were preparing were meant to be used inside Bangladesh too.
The revelation through the Burdwan blast has come in the wake of two major developments of the recent past. One is the alleged use of a part of Saradah chit fund to finance Jamaat in Bangladesh to destabilise the government. And in this members of the ruling TMC in Paschimbanga are also alleged to be involved. The other is the statement of al-Qaeda chief Zawahiri of creating AQISA, or al-Qaeda in South Asia.
The Burdwan incident confirms the apprehension that there is a close nexus between religious extremists in both the countries. However, while that link is only to be expected since terrorism straddles international borders what is most worrisome is the complicity of some PB ruling party members in this. The house in which the alleged extremists were putting together the bombs belongs to a member of TMC and in fact it also housed the local office of the party.
We have to wait and see how the Centre in India deals with the issue. There is already a tussle between the Centre and PB as to who should investigate the Saradah fund transfer. How does one deal with a terrorist situation that involves members of the ruling party of the state? While Bangladesh must watch the developments carefully it must insist that India take effective measures to ensure that that its territory is not used by groups hostile to Bangladesh. Bangladesh has addressed India's security concerns. India cannot fall short in fulfilling its obligations to Bangladesh.
The writer is Editor, OP-Ed and Defence & Strategic Affairs, The Daily Star.
Comments