ISI's Bangladesh Comeback: How Radical Networks Threaten Regional Security

Citing intelligence inputs, it stated that Pakistani operatives are reestablishing networks of Islamist militant groups, reviving pre-1971-era connections with sympathisers within Bangladesh's Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) and radical Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami--an outfit which opposed the country's 1971 Liberation War against Pakistan.

"Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is quietly staging a comeback in Bangladesh, leveraging shifting political winds, porous borders, and radical networks to reassert its strategic footprint in India's eastern flank. Recent developments point to a resurgence of ISI-linked activities aimed at destabilising both Bangladesh and India, under the cover of growing 'defence cooperation' between Dhaka and Islamabad," a report in 'Eurasia Review' detailed.

"The latest signal came when Pakistan's Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, met Bangladesh's Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus. The meeting, publicised by Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), emphasised strengthening bilateral defence and security cooperation -- a diplomatic euphemism that masks Islamabad's covert agenda," it added.

According to the report, Bangladesh's porous border with India has long remained a vulnerability evolving into a logistical artery for cross-border smuggling, arms trafficking, and the movement of militants. The ISI and its local proxies reportedly use these routes to support anti-India operations and maintain covert communication lines across the border.

"Sources indicate that ISI-backed elements have helped set up training and indoctrination camps in Cox's Bazar and northern Bangladesh, areas with limited state oversight. These facilities are allegedly run by former Pakistani Special Service Group (SSG) operatives and cater to both Bangladeshi recruits and Rohingya refugees -- creating a volatile mix of radicalised fighters under the guise of humanitarian displacement," the report stressed.

"The camps serve dual purposes: strengthening local extremist outfits like Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and preparing operatives for cross-border infiltration into India's Northeast. The use of Rohingya recruits further complicates the security calculus, turning a humanitarian crisis into a geopolitical weapon," it noted.

The revival of ISI networks in Bangladesh, the report said, marks a renewed strategic dimension in Pakistan's long-running proxy campaign against India.

"The mix of ideological indoctrination, clandestine funding, and covert training constitutes a potent hybrid threat to both Dhaka and New Delhi. For Bangladesh, it risks eroding internal stability, fuelling Islamist radicalism, and straining relations with key partners. For India, it opens a vulnerable eastern flank already challenged by insurgent movements and cross-border infiltration," it stated.

- IANS