archive: Laden looks east
Laden looks east
Ashis K. Biswas
Outlook
July 19, 1999
Title: Laden looks east
Author: Ashis K. Biswas
Publication: Outlook
Date: July 19, 1999
For those who thought Osama bin Laden was active only in Afghanistan
and Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), sources in Indian intelligence
say he might also have a presence in Bangladesh and Myanmar.
According to these sources, they have a message from the Dhaka-based
Harkatul jehad Al Islami (HJAI), an Islamic fundamentalist
organisation financed by Laden, calling for the recruitment of 5,000
volunteers from Bangladesh to fight in Kashmir. Their mission, the
message in Bengali said, was "to establish Kashmir as an independent
sovereign state on the world map, separating it from India and
undertake a religious war to achieve this". The recruits from
Bangladesh would form part of the 25,000 target volunteers from other
Muslim countries.
The HJAI, which has spread its roots to Murshidabad, held two meetings
on June 1 and June 11, setting June 30 as the deadline for the
enrolment of volunteers from Bangladesh. What one doesn't know,
however, is whether the HJAI'S plans changed in the aftermath of the
Clinton-Sharif talks in the US. The resolutions of the June 1 meeting
were as follows:
* Undertake an effort to make the Indian state of Kashmir
independent. The Bangladesh and Myanmar units of the HJAI jointly
decide to send a minimum of 1,000 mujahids for the cause.
* At the direction of the HJAI'S central committee, 63 district
committees decide to send at least 10 mujahideen from each district.
* A top secret meeting to be held on June 11 at the temporary training
centre at Cox Bazaar.
There is no feedback on how successful the recruitment drive has
been. For one, Kashmir is not a serious issue for Bangladeshis.
Then, Indo-Bangla relations-after the recent Farakka water sharing
agreement, the Tin Bigha transfer and the Dhaka-Calcutta bus
route-have never been better. Bangladeshi authorities think the
recruitment drive wasn't too successful. Indian intelligence
officials, however, are not so convinced. Says an official: "Getting
100-200 men will not be difficult. After all some people did go off
from Bangladesh to fight in Afghanistan against the Russians. On
their return, they formed the nucleus of the HJAI." That the HJAI was
serious is clear from the resolutions passed at the June 11 meeting.
These were:
* Send at least 5,000 mujahideen by June 30 from the Kormi and Khasia
regions of Bangladesh.
* Send 1,000 mujahideen from the Burma Muslim Liberation Front.
* Send cash and ultra-modern weaponry.
* Undertake the pledge of taking part in a religious war with the sole
idea of liberating Kashmir from India.
Indian security agencies are also concerned whether similar directives
like the one on June 1 have been sent to Muslim fundamentalist
organisations in West Bengal. There is also concern over whether the
mujahideen may become active in West Bengal and Assam. Over the years
the ISI has become active in the eastern region. For instance, ULFA
leader Anup Chetia's accounts of his visits to Pakistan prior to his
arrest indicate that the ISI had urged the ULFA to go in for the
destruction of oil industry installations in Assam, a suggestion the
organisation rejected. In West Bengal, some weeks ago, an ISI agent,
Abu Nasser, was arrested along with an associate. Their failed
mission was to blow up the American consulate. Last fortnight, the
police arrested Tanvir Alam from Bandel, about 40 miles northwest of
Calcutta. Alam had run UP STD bills exceeding Rs 3,000,000. His
calls were traced to Pakistan and the Middle East. Documents relating
to movements of army units were also seized from him. The recent
blast killing over 12 jawans on their way to Kargil at New Jalpaiguri
station was attributed to the ISI by the state home minister Buddhadev
Bhattacharya.
The ISI influence has also been very perceptible in the border areas
of Dinajpur, Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia and North 24 Parganas
districts. The border districts have seen a high level of
infiltration and migration of Muslim population from Bangladesh. This
has led to demographic changes which the BJP has been protesting
about. Says Paras Dutta, BJP vice president:
"Except the BJP, no other party has ever protested against continuing
infiltration from Bangladesh which has altered the demographic
character of the border districts." According to him, the average
growth of population in the state between 1981-91 was 24.5 per cent
where-as for Nadia, Malda, Murshidabad and 24 Parganas, it was 29.8,
29.6, 28 and 30 per cent respectively. The increased figures, he
says, are linked to the infiltration.
And the latest intelligence information on the HJAI clearly indicates
that West Bengal could well be the transit point of the mujahideen and
it's also very likely that some are already operating in the state.
The Centre had at various times warned the state that around 140
shelters were being run by the ISI-backed fundamentalists, but the
state government has ignored these warnings. This time may be
different. With the situation reaching alarming proportions, the
Jyoti Basu government may be forced to act.
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