Bangladesh’s Islamist coalition, with the backing of elements from the ruling government, has unleashed a systematic disinformation campaign to whip up an Indian frenzy after Indian media exposed a devious Islamist plot to capture power through the back door
Indian media outlets have exposed a Jamaat-e-Islami plan christened Operation Domon (suppression) and Operation Dokhol (Capture), which, in two phases, plans to first decimate the Awami League and then topple the BNP government by playing on public anger over redeeming governance failures.
The Jamaat plan has been developed by a cabal of retired military officers known for their proximity to the Islamist coalition, let alone dreaded militant outfit members who were convicted of orchestrating killings of bloggers, minorities, and foreigners, including the country’s deadliest militant attack at an upscale restaurant in the capital that left at least 15 killed.
The cabal is headed by controversial former military figure Abdullahil Aman Azmi, who publicly called for changing the national anthem and founding constitution of Bangladesh after August 5, 2024, triggering fierce backlash from liberal and secular quarters. Importantly, following his call, Islamists and their allies are campaigning to change the founding constitution, earned over an ocean of blood in 1971.
Son of former Jamaat-e-Islami chief and convicted war criminal Ghulam Azam, Azmi, an influential Jamaat think tank planner, reportedly stood accused as the brain behind the Jamaat’s targeted attack on women and minorities, alongside a plot to turn the country into a theocratic state.
Another key planner is known as sacked military officer Major Syed Mohammad Ziaul, who has a bounty (approximately $25,000) on his head for becoming a most notorious militant fugitives in Bangladesh. Haque has masterminded subversive militant violence in the country, including the targeted killings of secular bloggers, according to his profile on the US-backed Jamestown Institute.
Reportedly sheltered by Turkey to evade arrest following the bounty and convictions, Zia has become one of the most active social media figures, using a verified Facebook page, in the run-up to the rise of Jamaat-e-Islami under the last interim government headed by ppro-IslamistMuhammad Yunus. Even retired pro-Islamist military officers, backed by Azmi, have reportedly been engaged in public advocacy and lobbying to restore him to military service, and his lawyer has even sent a letter to the Home Ministry.
Following the exposure of their scheme, the Islamists have gone in for what they do best – whipping up anti Indian frenzy.
They floated some fictitious media stories that Indian spy planes are involved in regular reconnaissance over Bangladesh, pointing to a possible Indian military incursion in the near future without a single shred of evidence.
Simultaneously, an Indian national known to be a small-time businessman,n Rabiul Isl, has been arrested and framed up in espionage charges, but despite the remand period coming to an end, the police have failed to produce any tangible evidence about what kind of sensitive information was secured by the arrested Rabiul, who else was involved in the ring, and the extent of his contacts in Bangladesh.
However, despite failure to produce substantive evidence, cops have again sought remand of the Indian citizen.
Usually, a foreign spy definitely holds a network of contacts among influential people in the host country. And when the spy in question is arrested, some of the local contacts are also nabbed in the serial race.
But in Rabiul’s case, there is not a single arrest, raising the question of where this short-time Indian businessman was garnering from.
The police have been pointing to some discrepancies, including inRabiul’s passports and his identity card over his date of birth.
However, analysts pointed to the fact that Indian intelligence will never be so naive as to infiltrate an agent without a comprehensive check of his documents and without ironing out any discrepancies.
Some even pointed out another fake narrative these cops spread in 2024, portraying an Indian citizen as responsible for vandalism in a Bangladeshi temple.
Days after the attack on the temple, Bangladesh cops, squandering public money, floated a newspaper advertisement with a photo of a 45-year-old Hindu man, Sanjit Biswas, whom they described as an Indian citizen who carried out the attack on the temple in September 2024.
Later, an independent DW Bangla investigation revealed that the citizen was a Bangladeshi by birth, hailed from a southern village, and did not have any affiliation with India. Though this report exposed the fake drama, cops did not suspend anyone for the false flag operation.
There are other causes that experts point out behind the latest drama over the frantic bid to frame the Indian citizen who validly entered Bangladesh after obtaining a visa from Bangladesh authorities.
As concerns are growing over the presence of Al Qaeda in Bangladesh, hundreds of convicted and accused militants have been released on bail by the Yunus regime, who have been found involved in building secret bomb-making hideouts and preparing bombs last August. Jamaat did not speak out against these released extremists and rather echoed their tone of complete denial of extremism, which experts pointed out as a key reason behind falsely blaming India to safeguard these extremists.
