Bangladesh: South Asia’s Next ‘Bloody Battlefield’ ?

By Eng Shafiq Islam (Political Analyst) & Action Counter Terrorism Certified Professional UK.

Since August 5, 2024, when the illegal occupier Yunus government seized power after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted, extremist Islamist groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir have been freely carrying out terrorist activities in the country under Muhammad Yunus’s government. Other extremist Islamist groups have joined Hizb ut-Tahrir under government protection. Under the banner of ‘Tawhidi Janata,’ a reign of mob terror has been established across Bangladesh. The fear of terrorism in Bangladesh is further intensifying as Jamaat-e-Islami and Jihadi students plan to form an armed militia under the banner of the ‘Islamic Revolutionary Army.’ This not only threatens Bangladesh’s stability but also the security of neighbouring India and the larger South Asian region.

Deepening Geopolitical Dangers

With Turkish support, logistics, and military aid, including from the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI, the geopolitics of the region have become dangerous. The ‘Islamic Revolutionary Army’ began forming on December 20, 2024, under the banner of ‘Anti-Discrimination Student Movement,’ funded and patronized by Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and George Soros. Taking advantage of the cancellation of previous security clearances for Pakistani citizens or people of Pakistani origin to enter Bangladesh, militants from ISI, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and other groups are infiltrating Bangladesh. In mid-2024, over 5,000 trained Biharis were deployed across Bangladesh. By the end of July, their number had reached 50,000. They began attacking police stations and breaking out terrorists from jails with explosives and automatic weapons. They extensively looted police armories, including bulletproof vests, grenades, rifles, and sophisticated AK-47s belonging to the SSF.

Arms Deals and Extremist Ambitions

Meanwhile, the government has purchased Bayraktar TB2 Drones, Otokar Kobra IMVs, mine-resistant MRAPs, light armored combat vehicles-RN-94 armored ambulances, TRG-300 Tiger MLRS, and TRG-230 Surface-to-Surface Missiles (SSMs) from Turkey, and international intelligence sources indicate that multiple militant deals have been made during these ‘transactions.’ The purchase of such weapons and equipment suggests far-reaching objectives of these new Islamists in Bangladesh and a long-term blueprint for South Asian security.

Bangladesh’s Reign of Terror: South Asia’s Next Islamic Hub?

“Bangladesh’s politics is continuously deteriorating. The economy is collapsing; law and order are in extreme disarray. The rule of law is systematically under attack, detained politicians, cultural workers, and journalists are not getting bail in courts…. Bangladesh is facing an existential crisis. The values upon which it was founded more than 50 years ago are being systematically abandoned by a constitutionally illegitimate regime.” — Syed Badrul Ahsan, veteran Bangladeshi journalist and commentator, December 6, 2024.

Syed Badrul Ahsan’s commentary has become even more pronounced seven months later. Now, the crises have ripened. The Bangladesh achieved through the great liberation of ’71, the Liberation War, the freedom fighters, and their descendants are being systematically targeted for annihilation with declared intent, openly and proudly. And all this is being done with the overt and silent support of almost all armed forces, civil society, and intellectuals of the country.

Rise of Banned Islamist Groups

Under Muhammad Yunus’s new leadership, radical Islamist groups that were banned during the Awami League era are now being encouraged. These include Hizb ut-Tahrir, Hefazat-e-Islam, Jamaat-e-Islami, and Ansarullah Bangla Team. Since August 2024, the Yunus government has released convicted Islamist terrorists and unleashed alleged Jihadi Janata on the streets to commit widespread violence against minorities (primarily Hindus). In 2024 alone, over 2,200 incidents of violence against Hindus were reported in Bangladesh. The primary goal of these extremist Islamist organizations is a global Islamic caliphate. If this Islamic takeover succeeds in Bangladesh, the country will turn into another Islamist terrorist state — like Afghanistan under the Taliban, and Syria under the new terrorist leader Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa.

On March 7, thousands of members of Bangladesh’s banned Islamist militant group Hizb ut-Tahrir defied police barricades and marched on the streets of Dhaka, demanding the establishment of an Islamic caliphate instead of the country’s secular democracy. The crowd present at the rally turned violent — throwing stones and clashing with police. The ‘March for Khilafah’ rally in Dhaka on March 7, 2025, was supported by some advisors to the interim government, such as Asif Nazrul, Nahid Islam, Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan, and Mahfuz Alam. Someone known as one of HuT’s founding members has been appointed as a secretary.

Counter Extremism Project: A Growing Threat

“Hizb ut-Tahrir is an international Islamist movement that seeks to unite Muslims under an Islamic caliphate. Hizb ut-Tahrir members have been involved in violent activities in multiple countries. This group is banned in at least 13 countries, including many Muslim-majority nations.” Hizb ut-Tahrir operates in over 40 countries, and despite being banned in Bangladesh, it is rapidly growing and organizing in the changed circumstances. Under Yunus’s rule, Islamist hardliners and convicted terrorists have been released from prison. On August 31, 2024, Mamunul Haque, a leader of Hefazat-e-Islam, another group working to establish an Islamic Sharia state in Bangladesh, was released from prison.

“Bangladesh’s largest Islamist organization, Hefazat-e-Islam, has openly opposed the country’s secularism. Hefazat-e-Islam besieged Dhaka in 2013 and presented a 13-point demand. Under Yunus’s rule, this group is currently operating with even greater extremist dominance in Bangladesh.”

Yunus’s government also released Jashimuddin Rahmani, the head of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist organization Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT). Rahmani, who was imprisoned for the murder of blogger Rajib Haider, was released on parole. ABT is trying to establish a Jihadi network in Bangladesh with the help of sleeper cells. When the Hasina government banned ABT in Bangladesh in 2015, ABT later rebranded itself as ‘Ansar al-Islam’ and was banned again in 2017.

Jamaat-e-Islami Leading an Armed Counter-Enforcement?

On March 31, 2025, Michael Rubin stated in a ‘Washington Examiner’ report: “Declare Bangladesh’s Jamaat-e-Islami a Foreign Terrorist Organization.” On August 5, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was overthrown due to violent protests in the country.

Although the protesters claimed their actions were a legitimate movement, political parties with foreign interests and external support fueled the widespread protests across the country, one of which was Jamaat-e-Islami. Importantly, Jamaat-e-Islami is a hardline Islamist party deeply involved in terrorism. Jamaat-e-Islami’s roots go back to 1941. Its founder, Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, wanted to create a more conservative Islamist country by rejecting both Western and liberal democracies, much like the Muslim Brotherhood.

Within Bangladesh, Jamaat-e-Islami was particularly brutal. It was closely involved in the 1971 Bangladesh Genocide, which resulted in the deaths of over 3 million people. For this reason, members of Jamaat-e-Islami are considered war criminals in Bangladesh. After Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party, Jamaat-e-Islami was the second political party to face an international tribunal for its crimes. Nevertheless, Jamaat-e-Islami still receives active support from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Agency.

Since Sheikh Hasina’s overthrow, Muhammad Yunus has been ‘in a war’! He has imprisoned over 1,000 journalists and filed murder charges against dozens of journalists so that he can rule without accountability. Whether due to his own rivalry with Sheikh Hasina or ideological reasons, he has allowed Islamist groups to spread terrorism across Bangladesh and released local Al-Qaeda collaborators from prison. Yunus and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, with the support of BNP, conspired to ban Awami League activities.”

Michael Rubin further states in his report: “American policymakers and diplomats issue anti-terrorism statements, but they do not strongly emphasize that Jamaat-e-Islami is ideologically involved in terrorism.” He also says, “Jamaat-e-Islami is a terrorist organization. The State Department should designate Jamaat as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Under Executive Order 13224, signed by President George W. Bush, the Treasury Secretary should also identify and seize the group‘s assets and properties. Instead of treating a group responsible for genocide in Bangladesh and for strengthening Al-Qaeda as an ordinary political party, President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio should not be as negligent and foolish as Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, but rather judge Jamaat-e-Islami as a deadly and ideologically driven terrorist group like Hamas or Al-Qaeda.”

Turkey, Erdogan the ‘Caliph’ on the Stage

Turkey is rapidly expanding its influence in the Islamic world. ‘Neo-Ottoman’ President Erdogan is sparking a new wave of Islamism across the continent. The country is now interfering in South Asia, especially by signing defense agreements with Pakistan and Bangladesh.

In 2011, with approximately 800,000 active and reserve armed forces members, Turkish troops are now stationed in at least 11 foreign countries — such as Syria, Iraq, Qatar, Northern Cyprus, Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, and Azerbaijan. Last year alone, they signed important security and military agreements with four countries — Iraq, Somalia, Bulgaria, and Romania. More importantly, Turkey began new defense agreements with Pakistan and Bangladesh in January 2025.

Turkish Threat to South Asian Security

This pan-Islamist and expansionist Turkey has begun interfering in South Asian internal affairs, hoping to exploit internal divisions of states to establish a firm foothold for its neo-imperialist project. Bangladesh is widely hosting Turkish officials who shamelessly sought military, economic, and food aid from Turkey in early January 2025. After receiving Bayraktar drones from Turkey, they tried to demonstrate a kind of power by demonstrating them on the Indian border.

Bangladesh has already become Turkey’s fourth-largest market for military products and has purchased Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs, most of which have been sold to war-torn countries like Ukraine, Syria, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Azerbaijan.

The Latest Dangers

Many Rohingya youth sheltered in Rohingya refugee camps are preparing for ‘jihad’ and ‘war.’ A young man in the Ukhia camp said, “They are telling us to achieve independence in our own country through war. Everyone is ready for jihad. For this, everyone is working together – ARSA, RSO – both groups are doing good work.” Both ordinary Rohingya and those in contact with various groups in the camps have admitted that at least four organizations in the camps are preparing for ‘armed rebellion,’ ‘jihad,’ or ‘war.’ Regular informal meetings and discussions on these matters are held in various camps. These groups are the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO), Islamic Mahaj, and Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA).

Few days ago, an Emirates Airlines flight (No. 586) landed at Dhaka’s Shahjalal International Airport. According to the passport details of three individuals, they claimed to be officers of the Pakistan Army Medical Corps, who should have no business in Cox’s Bazar. They landed in Bangladesh to be welcomed by Bangladeshi government officials and Pakistani diplomats stationed in Dhaka. These three Pakistani officers are: 1. Brigadier General Nadeem Ahmed. 2. Brigadier General Muhammad Talha, and 3. Brigadier General Saud Ahmed Rao. The documents and passport issuance of these Pakistani officers are quite astonishing! Brigadier General Nadeem Ahmed’s passport was issued on April 30 of this year, Brigadier Muhammad Talha’s passport was issued on May 26, and Brigadier Saud Ahmed Rao’s passport was issued on May 29. All three passports are brand new machine-readable passports, with no stamps or other marks on their pages. This indicates that they were issued for ‘a special purpose.’ These three Pakistani army officers will visit the headquarters of the Bangladesh Army’s 10th Infantry Division in Ramu, near Cox’s Bazar. A retired Bangladeshi Major General commented: “These three are undoubtedly undercover. Otherwise, why would they go to Ramu Cantonment?”

A Looming Crisis?

In other words, amidst America’s ‘eradication of terrorism,’ India’s ‘act of war,’ the ‘picnic mode’ of political parties regarding elections, the army chief’s ultimatum, one shocking murder after another to camouflage the public, the Western world’s ‘inclusive’ election advice, NCP’s ‘shadow’ opposition, the unraveling of one corruption incident after another, and the unprecedented meetings of the Chief Justice and Chief Election Commissioner with the Chief Adviser of the Interim Government – is something big about to happen in the country? Something so massive that the country’s very existence could be endangered? The signs indicate so.

By Eng Shafiq Islam (Political Analyst) & Action Counter Terrorism Certified Professional UK.