Govt on hardline against militancy
DEEPAK ACHARJEE
The government has adopted a hardline against militancy following recent target killings that included the wife of a police officer, foreign nationals, minority people and bloggers. The militant groups involved are the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, Bangladesh (JMB), Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) and the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJi).
Law enforcement agencies have launched a special operation across the country to catch members of militant groups, and also those sheltering and financing them, sources in the home ministry and at the police headquarters said.
Law enforcement and intelligence agencies have started gathering names of members of militant groups and their mentors to curb their activities with a view to stopping target killings and militancy, the sources added.
At least four people, suspected members of the militant outfit JMB, have been killed in separate gunfights with law enforcers till date.
Of them, Kawsar Ali was an accused in the Bogra Shia mosque attack case. Tarek Hossain Milu, alias Islamil, and Sultan Mahmud, alias Rana, were killed in a gunfight at Pallabi in Dhaka. Tarek was involved in the killing of Rajshahi University professor of English, AFM Rezaul Karim Siddiquee, and Sultan was involved in the Bogra Shia mosque attack. Another JMB activist, Jamal Uddin, was killed in a gunfight in Rajshahi. He had allegedly supplied bombs in the suicide attack on an Ahmadiyya mosque at Baghmara in Rajshahi.
Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told The Independent that law enforcement agencies vowed to adopt a hard line against militancy after a police officers wife was killed in Chittagong on Sunday. They (militants) will not be spared and would be crushed at any cost so that they cannot raise their heads any more. We are hoping that the target killings will be stopped within the shortest possible time, he said.
The home minister urged the people to inform local police stations and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) if they find any suspicious elements in their localities.
It is not possible for law enforcement agencies alone to curb militancy. We must work together to eradicate militancy from the country, he said.
He further said that the authorities will meet heads of educational institutions to alert them so that students do not fall prey to militant propaganda, mainly on the Internet.
At the same time, they will meet Islamic scholars, imams and teachers of Islamic institutions to create awareness among people to stop militancy.
On instructions from high-ups, officers of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, including superintendents of police (SPs), were increasing vigilance on local leaders and activists of the Jamaat-Shibir and militants out on bail in different cases.
After the police officers wife was killed in Chittagong, the government, especially law enforcement and intelligence agencies, have taken the matter seriously. They met several times at the Prime Ministers Office (PMO), police headquarters and the Special Branch (SB).
Security adviser to the Prime Minister, Maj. Gen. (Retd) Tarique Ahmed Siddiqui, held an exclusive meeting with the chiefs of law enforcement and intelligence agencies at the PMO.
So far, at least 40 incidents have taken place in which the JMB and Ansarullah Bangla Team (eight) and other militant groups are involved. The police have arrested 145 militants belonging to different outfits and filed 40 cases.
The government has banned six militant outfitsHizb-ut-Tahrir, JMB and its offshoot Jagrata Muslim Janata, Bangladesh (JMJB), Harkat-ul-Jihad (HuJi), Shahadat-e-Al Hikma and Ansarullah Bangla Team.
