ISI-Jamaat Disinformation Fails to Sway Bangladesh Ahead of Elections

Intelligence Bureau officials have noticed that this trend is rising with the elections coming near. There is a desperate attempt to provoke the Indian agencies, including the Army, into indulging in some kind of a misadventure in Bangladesh, officials say.

So far, multiple campaigns have been run by the Jamaat-e-Islami and ISI to convert the entire population of Bangladesh into being anti-India. This campaign has worked only with a select few, and if one were to assess the situation, then only 5 per cent of what the ISI set out to do has been successful.

At first, the ISI and Jamaat ran campaigns to suggest that India had plotted the violence. It was constantly told to the people that India is the aggressor and is responsible for all things bad in Bangladesh. The idea was to provoke the people of the country against India.

The next was targeting the minorities, with the clear intention of provoking India. The ISI did try hard to get the Bangladesh Army on its side and make provocative comments against India. It did manage to rope in some within the army to take an anti-India stand. However, the top brass of the army has remained mature about the issue and always maintained contact with the Indian Army.

Disinformation campaigns were being run, stating that the Indian Army would attack Bangladesh. There has been a constant attempt to persuade the Indian Armed Forces to attack Bangladesh. Had these elements succeeded, then the entire population would have taken an anti-India stance. However, the Indian agencies and the army have not fallen into this trap.

The key was communication, and despite the environment being so hostile under Muhammad Yunus, all communication channels remained open.

The Indian Army, in particular, was very sensitive about the situation and handled it with utmost maturity. The Army kept all communication channels open to avoid miscommunication and misunderstanding. Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi said that all three service chiefs kept their communication channels fully open.

The Indian Army has multiple channels of communication, which were all kept open. The chief also said that he remains in regular touch with the chief of the Bangladesh Army. He also said that a team had been sent to Bangladesh to assess the situation there.

The army officials met with many people, and the main intention was to avoid any misunderstanding and miscommunication.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that India has shown a lot of maturity. However, this won't stop the ISI and Jamaat from continuing their disinformation campaign against India.

Pakistan has realised that since the takeover by Yunus following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina, it may have made plenty of inroads. However, the people are extremely wary of Pakistan and would have limited influence. The sea routes have been opened, and visa norms have been eased for Pakistan. Further diplomatic ties have strengthened between the two countries, and cooperation in the defence sector, too, has gone up.

However, Pakistan realises that while several exceptions have been made, it cannot control the people in the way it does in Pakistan. The people of Bangladesh prefer better ties with India when compared to Islamabad, an official said.

This has been acting as a major irritant for the Jamaat and ISI. Hence, they are both in an overdrive mode to go on with their disinformation campaign against India.

The only intention is to provoke India into indulging in a misadventure in Bangladesh, so that the people can become anti-India. Unless the ISI achieves this, it can never control the people of Bangladesh, the official also added.

- IANS