New Delhi: The Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh has been seeking to expand its influence by encouraging the formation of multiple organisations that can spearhead anti-India demonstrations across the country.
An official explained that the Jamaat aims to derail India-Bangladesh ties. But it does not want to be in the forefront of anti-India protests as it wants to project itself as a responsible opposition party in Bangladesh.
In the general elections held in Bangladesh early this year, the Jamaat had won 68 seats and emerged as the second largest party after Tarique Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The Jamaat-led bloc has a total of 77 seats in the parliament.
Since Rahman assumed office, relations between India and Bangladesh have seen a marked improvement. The two neighbouring countries have maintained regular engagement and dialogue, despite several outstanding issues that still need to be addressed, an official said.
“Despite the differences, Rahman recognises the importance of maintaining strong ties with India, and that ensures diplomatic channels between the two countries will remain open and active,” the official added.
The Jamaat, which is widely believed to maintain close links with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), is seeking to undermine the recent improvement in India-Bangladesh relations. However, rather than taking a direct role, it has allegedly been operating through smaller affiliated groups and front organisations to pursue this objective while remaining in the background.
India and Bangladesh are currently engaged in discussions on several sensitive issues, including border security, trade relations and migration. Amid these developments, a number of proxy groups are reportedly emerging at the behest of the Jamaat to strain bilateral ties. Officials say the organisation enjoys the support of several allied groups capable of advancing its agenda without requiring its direct involvement.
On June 19, a relatively new organisation, the Bangladesh Azad Party (BAP), staged a demonstration in Dhaka. The group said the protest was organised to express its opposition to India’s move to deport and repatriate illegal immigrants to Bangladesh.
The protesting BAP activists tried to march towards the Indian High Commission but were stopped by the police. They burnt an effigy of Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the protest.
An official said that India has acted within the framework of law in dealing with the issue of illegal Bangladeshi immigration. However, groups such as the Jamaat are attempting to politicise the matter and, according to the official, have been encouraging the formation of new organisations tasked with carrying out anti-India campaigns and activities.
Officials claim that although the BAP presents itself as an independent political party, its membership is largely drawn from individuals associated with the Jamaat.
“This, they argue, suggests that the organisation was deliberately created to spearhead anti-India protests while allowing the Jamaat to maintain plausible deniability and avoid direct allegations of attempting to undermine India-Bangladesh relations,” an official said.
An Intelligence Bureau official said that the core issue is not India’s ongoing efforts to address illegal immigration. Rather, the objective is to portray the matter as a human rights concern and use that narrative to cast India in a negative light.
The Jamaat, at the behest of the ISI, wants to make it a humanitarian crisis created by India so that New Delhi can be targeted at global forums, the official added.
Officials say that several groups aligned with or supportive of the Jamaat remain willing to spearhead anti-India campaigns. Among the more prominent of these is the National Citizen Party (NCP), a student-led organisation that emerged during the movement against the government of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The NCP played a key role in mobilising the protests that ultimately contributed to Hasina’s ouster. India had maintained close ties with the Hasina government. Another official said that this too was aimed at derailing India-Bangladesh ties.
The other parties which back the Jamaat include the Islamic Andolan Bangladesh, Amar Bangladesh Party, Bangladesh Khilafat Angolan and Nizam-e-Islam Party.
Observers of developments in Bangladesh believe that the ISI will continue efforts aimed at disrupting ties between India and Bangladesh. According to an official, Islamabad remains sensitive about the legacy of the 1971 Liberation War and is, therefore, keen to retain influence in Bangladesh’s internal affairs. The official added that India’s recent measures against illegal immigration and the repatriation of illegal migrants have become points of concern for both the ISI and the Jamaat.
Experts allege that the strategy of encouraging illegal immigration into India was conceived by the ISI and the Jamaat after the Liberation War, to trigger communal tensions and alter demographic patterns in certain regions. Pakistan has long recognised the limitations of a conventional military confrontation with India and has, therefore, relied on alternative means to advance its interests.
An official said that the Jamaat is likely to continue fostering new organisations to enhance anti-India activities in Dhaka. By operating through such proxy groups, the Jamaat and the ISI can pursue their objectives while avoiding direct involvement, the official added.
(IANS)
