Washington welcomes Dhaka’s zero-tolerance policy on terrorism

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and other Bangladeshi government officials frequently emphasised Bangladesh’s zero-tolerance policy on terrorism and continued to deny the presence of globally organised jihadist militant groups such as al-Qa’ida and ISIS, said a new report released by the US government yesterday.

In 2022, Bangladesh experienced few instances of terrorist violence as authorities continued to pursue militants rigorously, particularly al-Qa’ida-affiliated groups, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (JMB), and an ISIS-affiliated JMB offshoot, Neo-JMB, according to Bangladesh part of the “Country Reports on Terrorism 2022.”

In October, Bangladesh authorities announced operations to disrupt Jama’atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya (JAHS), an allegedly al-Qa’ida inspired group.

US-trained Bangladesh police units arrested dozens of terrorist suspects.

In October the Bangladeshi counterterrorism Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) announced operations to disrupt JAHS, an allegedly al-Qa’ida-inspired group training in the Chittagong Hill Tracts to carry out attacks elsewhere, according to Bangladeshi authorities.

Authorities alleged that JAHS cooperated with the Kuki-Chin National Front, an ethnic separatist militant organization.

Authorities announced the arrest of dozens of JAHS members throughout the rest of the year.

On November 20, militants freed Moinul Hasan Shamim and Abu Siddiq Sohel, both convicted for their role in the 2015 murder of Bangladeshi publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan, in an attack on the Dhaka Chief Judicial Magistrate building.

Authorities charged 20 suspected members of banned al-Qa’ida-affiliate Ansar al-Islam with helping plan and/or execute the escape.

The freed convicts remained at large at the end of 2022.

Radicalization to violence and terrorist recruitment in the prison system remained a serious concern, said the report.

The CTTCU and Dhaka University began to develop a unified deradicalization from violence program to be implemented in select Bangladeshi prisons in 2023.

Dhaka North, Dhaka South, and Narayanganj are members of the Strong Cities Network.

International and Regional Cooperation: Bangladesh was active in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s activities in the CT arena, said the report.

The Department of State issued the 2022 Country Reports on Terrorism (CRT) each year.

The CRT provides insight on important issues in the fight against terrorism and helps the United States make informed decisions about policies, programs, and resource allocations as we seek to build counterterrorism capacity and resilience around the globe.

As the United States confronts a diverse and dynamic range of national security challenges, the US government is deploying the full range of CT tools to ensure a sustainable whole-of-government and whole-of-society CT approach with allies and partners around the world, said the Spokesperson at the US Department of State.

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