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Bangladesh is deliberately keeping the border tension high along the Dhubri and Dinajpur sectors of the Indo-Bangladesh border, in order to divert the attention of the Indian security forces in other parts of the border, where massive smuggling as well as anti-India activities are continuing. The involvement of some top ranking Bangladesh officials too has come to notice and a ruling party coalition, the Jamait-e-Islami of the Khaleda Zia Government, is directly engaged in spreading pro-Pakistan views as well as creating madarsas along the Indo-Bangladesh border for the last eight months.
Such activities have reached alarming levels in some areas of the border, though Dhaka publicly denies the charge. The Jamait-e-Islami has worked out a special relationship with the Pakistani establishment, which is the principal reason behind the change of the Bangladeshi attitude towards India. After the crisis along the border early this year, anti-India activities have grown considerably and smuggling has increased. Infiltration is unabated in the Dinhata and Cooch Behar sectors as the Indian forces are paying attention in the other areas.
According to the Border Security Force (BSF) officials here, the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and the Directorate General of Force Intelligence (DGFI) are routinely making reconnaissance and collecting field level intelligence through villagers, predominantly Muslims. The locals are working for the BDR as "contacts" and are paid Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000, depending on the nature and level of information. The movement in this area is really a force multiplier for the BDR, which is conducting effective recce missions from time to time. The 4,000 km border between India and Bangladesh, known as the Radcliffe stretch, has invited attention several times in the recent past for its porous nature. "It is humanly impossible for the BSF to guard the entire border effectively and prevent anti-India activities," says a BSF official.
India must go ahead with border fencing as quickly as possible. So far only 200 km of fencing stands finished, a stretch which was being used by Bangladeshis for smuggling and carrying out anti-India activities. The DGFI, which has a close relationship with the Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), has been engaging the BDR for making field assessment of Indian troop strength along the border.
"There is no valid reason for Bangladesh to conduct such survey - apart from carrying out frequent reconnaissance - to ascertain Indian positions along the border, which is normally peaceful," remarked a senior BSF official. There are Western intelligence reports that suggest Pakistan's new thinking of engaging India in the east. For that, the ISI is slowly shifting its strategy to take the proxy war closer into India, as Islamabad finds the current militancy untenable in the face of American monitoring.
The ISI is now operating in Bangladesh confidently, said a Western diplomat based in Kolkata. Though there are reports of movement of Al Qaeda terrorists in Bangladesh, the will of the Khaleda Zia Government to fight the menace seems weak. The training camps located in Sylhet, Cox Bazar, and Chittagong are not only meant for the ULFA, the NLFT, the ATTF, the PLA and other insurgent outfits, but also six other Bangladeshi organisations, personnel for which are being recruited by Jamait-e-Islami to create self-defence groups for any possible threat to the country.
The Jamait-e-Islami, the main constituent of the Khaleda Zia coalition government, has received from Pakistan's Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal a fresh donation of $1.5 million as zakat for the year 2003-04, to spread Islamic teachings in Bangladesh and Myanmar. Pakistan's Jamait-Ulema-e-Islam is in charge of the zakat money distribution committee for five countries - Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar - as a South Asian member. Hopefully, the prevailing situation will draw the attention of Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal, who will be visiting Dhaka later this month.
(ADNI)
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