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Chaos in Bangladesh opens the door to Islamic extremists: Bloomberg
A report by Bloomberg highlights the chaos in Bangladesh following the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, which has opened the door to Islamic extremists. The UK-based international media notes that militants are gaining new strength amid the turbulent change in government, raising security concerns across Asia.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has praised Sheikh Hasina for keeping Islamists at bay and providing a moderate cover for Pakistan, where terrorist groups have found safe haven for decades. Bangladesh is home to the world’s fourth-largest Muslim population, is now at a critical turning point.
Western and Indian officials fear that Islamic extremists are poised to gain a foothold in this volatile region, where terrorist networks such as ISIS have made significant progress in recent years. Additionally, the growing tensions in the Middle East, where Israel is fighting Hamas and threatening a ground invasion of Lebanon, provide a fertile environment for recruitment.
The ouster of Sheikh Hasina after 15 years initially raised hopes for a new era of democracy and clean governance, but Hasina’s fall has reopened old wounds from the genocide half a century ago, which have fuelled extremism and shaped Bangladeshi politics ever since.
Retaliatory attacks on Sheikh Hasina’s supporters and religious minorities have multiplied, with chaos reigning in the capital, Dhaka. Embassies operate with reduced staff, teenagers help direct traffic, and police stations are reduced to smouldering shells. Thousands of Hindus have already tried to flee to a sensitive part of India that borders Tibet and Myanmar, long associated with militant groups.
In a notable incident, a group of boys stormed the home of Turin Afroz, a former prosecutor of the war crimes tribunal, and interrogated her about why she was not wearing a headscarf. The report adds that extremists from Islamist groups began targeting secular bloggers in Bangladesh with machetes about a decade ago. In 2016, several gunmen, mostly from international backgrounds, opened fire on Holey Artisan Bakery, an upscale restaurant in Dhaka, singling out non-Muslims and killing more than a dozen foreigners.
Sheikh Hasina’s government responded forcefully, banning the Jamaat-e-Islami, a fundamentalist Islamic group, and sentencing the ringleader of the blogger killings to death. The report concludes that the risk of sectarian violence is increasing in Bangladesh, especially given the highly uncertain political environment in Dhaka, which provides a conducive environment for radical Islamist groups to operate and re-emerge.
(Source:Bloomberg, UK Sep 29, 2024)
