Militancy in Bangladesh has stemmed from the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, but the police do not think a resurgence of the hardline Islamist group will pose much of a threat now.
Reports of some Bangladeshis travelling to Afghanistan to join the Taliban ranks have caused concerns among security analysts, but Md Asaduzzaman, chief of the police’s Counterterrorism and Transnational Crime or CTTC, is not perturbed.
For now, he is happy to take the Taliban promise of not letting anyone use Afghanistan for terrorism in other countries at face value. He also says reports of Bangladeshis joining the group are not confirmed.
Asaduzzaman, however, admits that supporters of the Taliban could well exist in Bangladesh. “But I don’t think they'll be able to carry out acts of violence. We're alert and ready to tackle any challenge.”
Bangladeshis who had travelled to Afghanistan in the 70s and 80s to fight for the Afghans against the then Soviet Union later formed militant groups, such as Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami or HuJIB and Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh or JMB, reports bdnews24.com.
The Taliban captured power in 1996 amid a civil war after the Soviets left Afghanistan. The militant group was ousted by the US-led campaign in 2001. The US started the war after the Twin Tower attack, which was blamed on al-Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden who were harboured by the Taliban.
Now the Taliban are back after the withdrawal of the US troops from Afghanistan.
After the rise of the radical group Islamic State in the Middle East, Syria and Iraq became the destination for Bangladeshi extremists. Following the fall of ISIS, reports are emerging that Bangladeshi hardline Islamists were travelling to Afghanistan again.
Shafiqul Islam, commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, recently said “some” Bangladeshis were trying to travel to Afghanistan and some of them have been arrested in India.
CTTC chief Asaduzzaman doubts whether the Bangladeshis could reach Afghanistan.
“They've gone missing. There's no confirmation that they reached their destination. But they inspired their associates.”
Asaduzzaman claimed no foreigners, including Bangladeshis, fought for the Taliban. “One or two may have tried, but they could not reach Afghanistan.”
“And the Taliban have made it clear that they don’t have overseas units and links to foreign organisations.”
Former army officer M Shakhawat Hossain also believes the Taliban do not invite foreigners. “It needs to be clear that the Taliban are a group of pure Pashtu-speaking Afghans. Some from their borders with Pakistan may have joined the group, but they speak Pashtu.”
“The Bangladeshis and other foreigners who travelled to Afghanistan during the anti-Soviet war in the 80s were led by Osama bin Laden. Osama and the Taliban are not the same.”
The reports of Bangladeshis travelling to Afghanistan are still “alarming”, said Shakhawat. “It can be said that the foreign jihadists are going to Afghanistan to join IS or other groups, not the Taliban.”
Shafqat Munir, head of Bangladesh Centre for Terrorism Research and a research fellow at the Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies, says the Taliban assurance of not allowing foreign fighters in Afghanistan needs to be taken with a pinch of salt.
“Other militant groups, such as ISIS Khorasan, exist in Afghanistan. And there's a possibility of an al-Qaeda resurgence. Although there's not much data available on this, we can say by analysing the sequence of events that young people can go there to join other militant groups in Afghanistan, especially those affiliated with al-Qaeda,” he explained.
DMP chief Shafiqul also appeared to be concerned over the resurgence of the Taliban because this development can inspire the radicals in Bangladesh. “This wave will reach all the countries of the sub-continent.”
CTTC chief Asaduzzaman did acknowledge that some Bangladeshis were celebrating the Taliban’s seizure of Afghanistan on social media. “But it doesn’t mean they have the capacity to do something.”
“And the call to travel to Afghanistan is drawing little response because the people of Bangladesh never like militancy.”
“We're also aware of the issue. We've cyber-patrols who can identify them (who are supporting the Taliban on social media). Those who have uploaded such posts are kept under watch round the clock.”