Pakistan's Double Game: How Palestine, Taliban Stance Breeds New Terror Threat

Today, with free access to Bangladesh, the ISI has set up terror camps where scores of radicalised youth are being trained. While most terror groups in Bangladesh toe the line of the ISI, there is one group that is creating a problem.

The Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT), which is no doubt a radical Islamic group has a problem with Pakistan. Islamabad’s stance Israel and its war against the Taliban have not gone down too well with the HuT.

The HuT has not been part of any activity that the ISI has conducted in Bangladesh, Intelligence Bureau officials say.

It has remained independent and is focusing only on the establishing the Caliphate in Bangladesh.

With the Yunus government, the HuT has had a blow hot blow cold relationship.

In the aftermath of Sheikh Hasina’s ouster and the installation of Yunus, its activities were conducted more in the open. It even held a seminar where the discussion was centred around India’s dominance in Bangladesh.

It also spoke about the need to establish a Caliphate.

However, the HuT was not happy with the manner in which Pakistan was trying to dominate Bangladesh under Yunus.

It felt that Pakistan is more of a West sponsored force and did not feel truly about the cause. A lot however began to change for the HuT after Israel hit back after the Hamas attack the country. Pakistan has of late largely toed the line of the United States.

The thinking of the HuT was centred around the double standards of Pakistan.

On one hand, the ISI facilitated many Hamas operatives to share the stage with terrorists of the Hizbul Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba. On the other hand, when Israel intensified its attacks on the Hamas, Pakistan toed the line that the US did. It was natural for the HuT to feel strongly about the stance that Pakistan was taking where Israel was concerned.

The HuT is a pan-Islamist organisation that was founded in Jerusalem in 1953 with the sole intention of establishing the Islamic Caliphate.

It was in the year 2000 that the HuT first made its entry into Bangladesh. It wanted to part of the region to further its cause.

Apart from the Israeli-Palestine issue, the HuT also frowned upon Pakistan’s stance where the Afghan Taliban was concerned.

Tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan are at an all time high and although the fighting may have stopped, the truce is very delicate in nature.

When Pakistan attacked the Taliban with its Air Force, the HuT issued a stern warning and even condemned the actions.

The HuT in a statement said that the action by Pakistan is audacious in nature and stems from the temporary proximity of Pakistan’s leadership with the United States.

While the HuT may have rejoiced when the Sheikh Hasina government fell, it soon realised that Yunus was only a puppet of Islamabad.

At the insistence of Pakistan, the Yunus government has been taking strict action against the HuT. The interim government has at the insistence of Pakistan arrested a top HuT leader Imtiaz Selim.

Analysts say that going forward, the HuT may create a big problem for both the establishment in Bangladesh as well as Pakistan. This HuT could clearly end up become the next Tehreek-e-Taliban, Pakistan (TTP) for the ISI when it comes to its plans in Bangladesh, officials also say.

- IANS