Bangladesh News and Discussions

[leonblack08]

This terrorists are a threat to both india and bd.......better co-operation betn india and bangladesh's anti-terror agencies can yield much better results,for sure

They are threat to even Pakistan,as you can see what's happening there.These are threat to whole world,humanity and Islam.

 

[leonblack08]

Laskar leader had links to Aug 21 grenades​

Staff Correspondent
Detective Branch (DB) personnel suspect detained Laskar-e-Taiyeba leader Indian national Mufti Obaidullah's possible links to the grenades supplied by Moulana Tajuddin for using in August 21 attacks at Awami League rally.

The DB officials also suspect Obaidullah knew about Ramna Batamul blast and Udichi blast in Jessore.

According to sources, Laskar-e-Taiyeba had supplied the grenades through Bangladesh Harkatul Jihad al Islami (Huji) leader Moulana Tajuddin, brother of detained former BNP deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu, as he is closely linked to the Pakistan based militant organisation.

After the August 21 grenade attack, Tajuddin went into hiding and now he is believed to have been staying in South Africa. However, his brother Pintu remains detained in connection with the AL rally blast.

Deputy Commissioner Monirul Islam of DB-South told The Daily Star that they are quizzing Obaidullah about all the attacks, including AL rally on August 21, Ramna Batamul and Udichi blasts, and Huji's links to the attacks.

He said Obaidullah is denying his involvement in all the attacks in Bangladesh and claiming himself an 'ideological leader' of Laskar-e-Taiyeba.

"But he keeps mum when we ask him about the relationship between Huji and Laskar-e-Taiyeba," the DC-DB said adding, "He is a strong-hearted militant leader and therefore it is hard to extract information from him about his financial support and his network."

Monirul Islam, however, said Mufti Obaidullah had close relationship with Huji leaders Moulana Tajuddin, Mufti Hannan, Mufti Abdur Rouf and Moulana Abdus Salam.

Sources said intelligence personnel are conducting drives at different Huji dens to nab the Laskar-e-Taiyeba leaders as leaders of both the organisations are ideologically the same and they have close links to each other.

DB Inspector Ruhul Amin, investigation officer of the case filed against Mufti Obaidullah, told The Daily Star that they, along with Obaidullah, conducted drives at different places of Savar, Gazipur, Keraniganj and other areas adjacent to the capital.

He also said several teams are conducting drives to nab the accomplices of Obaidullah.

Mufti Obaidullah had been serving as a teacher of a madrasas in Shibchar of Madaripur district using his fake identity. Earlier he was a teacher of four other madrasas in Moulavibazar, Munshiganj, Jessore and Dhaka.

Now he is being quizzed under the Taskforce Intelligence cell after being taken on seven days' remand.

Our Madaripur correspondent reports: Shibchar police are verifying the identities of the teachers of different madrasas to find out whether Obaidullah has any other associates there.

Officer-in-Charge Abdul Jalil of the police station said they are looking into whether any other madrasa teachers are linked to the Laskar-e-Taiyeba.

The Daily Star - Details News

 

[Arjak]

They are threat to even Pakistan,as you can see what's happening there.These are threat to whole world,humanity and Islam.

yes true,very true......but reminding that even pak's prez said that pak created them for their previous interests,this thought really doesn't come that much........but yes they are paying for the wrongs they did earlier.,......and the whole south asia should work together to get rid of this cancer named 'terrorists' from here

 

[leonblack08]

I still remember the grotesque scene of Ramna Bomb blast.It was during Pahela Baishakh and we watched it live with horror.We were also supposed to go to Ramna that year,but Alhamdulilhah,fortunately somehow the plan was cancelled.
When we watched it on TV,we had a mixed feeling of relief and sorrow.Since then I only went once in Ramna park.

 

[leonblack08]

another image of captured LeT terrorist.

 

[leonblack08]

Lashkar-e-Taiba planning ‘armed-jihad’ in Bangladesh: Mansur​

Detained Lashkar-e-Taiba leader Indian national Moulana Mansur Ali alias Habibullah
Star Online Report
Detained Lashkar-e-Taiba leader Indian national Moulana Mansur Ali alias Habibullah today admitted that the members of Pakistan-based militant outfit were working with an aim to wage an armed struggle.

Mansur was quoted as admitting to the Task Force for Interrogation (TFI) on the first day of his seven-day remand that he was an arms expert, private television ATN Bangla reports.

A Dhaka court yesterday placed him on a seven-day remand.

He also informed the TFI cell that he has been working in Bangladesh for another Kashmir-based militant outfit Asif Reza Commando Force (ARCF) on its chief Ameer Reza's instructions.

The Daily Star - Details News

 

[Known_Unknown]

It's good to see that Bangladesh is bringing these terrorists to book. A secular, democratic Muslim-majority country in South Asia will be a strong bulwark against Islamic extremism and provide lost countries like Pakistan with an example to follow. Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan can form a South Asian free trade and travel zone through economic integration, minimization of travel barriers, and strong military co-operation. Since Pakistan is not interested in any sort of economic progress until Kashmir is resolved, it can continue to wallow in misery and self-pity while the rest of South Asia prospers.

 

[leonblack08]

These people are just ruining our youth to fight for something that is not even our own cause.We need better educated Imams and mollahs in madrasas.Besides the Madrasa education system should follow curriculum like that of West Bengal.

If that can be applied,then these wicked souls will not get any chance to exploit our youth.

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

Bangladesh team to visit dam site​

By Mark Dummett
BBC News, Dhaka
A delegation of Bangladeshi parliamentarians has arrived in north-east India to examine plans to build a hydroelectric dam. Many Bangladeshis worry that, if built, the Tipaimukh dam in the state of Manipur will reduce water flowing into its own north-eastern region. Work on building the dam has not yet started. But this is already a sensitive issue in Bangladesh, a country normally associated with having too much water.

The leader of the main opposition party in Bangladesh has called on India to cancel the project for the sake of the millions of people in both countries, who she said would be harmed by it. There have been several street protests as well, by those who say that two rivers, which pass through Bangladesh's Sylhet region, could dry up if the dam is built. They have compared the proposals to the Farakka Barrage, which India built in the 1970s on the Ganges to divert water away from Bangladesh. Despite a later agreement between the two countries to share water, Bangladesh's north-western regions continue to suffer from shortages in the winter months. After meeting officials in Delhi, the Bangladeshi parliamentarians will travel to Manipur to visit the site of the proposed dam. They are to examine whether Bangladesh really does have something to fear.

Link

 

[I-G]

Six Islamist militants held in Bangladesh

Dhaka (PTI): Authorities in Bangladesh have arrested six members of the banned militant outfit Harkatul Jihad Islami, amid fears that insurgents were trying to regroup in the country.

In a coordinated anti-terror drive, the elite Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) arrested the six suspected militants, including two leaders, following intelligence inputs about insurgents planing subversive activities in the country.

Belonging to the Harkatul Jihad Islami (Huji), they were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment along with 35 others in 1998. The militants were untraced for eight years since they were freed on bail soon after the BNP-Jamaat-led alliance assumed power in 2001, The Daily Star newspaper said.

RAB arrested two suspected militants from the capital, one in Feni and three in Chittagong and Cox's Bazar, it said.

According to sources, some of the 41 fugitive came under the spotlight following recent intelligence reports about their attempt to smuggle arms into the country through Naikhangchhari border for subversive activities.

The two arrested at Nababer Bagh in the capital have been identified as Abul Khaer, 40, of Manikganj and Moulana Mohammad Musa, 38, of Chandpur. The four others are Abdul Aziz, 45, of Feni, Razaul Karim, 40, and Anwar Uddin Zaved of Chakaria in Cox's Bazar and Abdullah Al Hossain of Banshkhali in Chittagong, the report said.

"We gathered information that the HUJI members tried to smuggle in firearms through Zarullachhari at Naikhangchhari in Bandarban, and were recruiting people to strengthen the organisation," a top unnamed RAB official was quoted as saying by the Bangladeshi daily.

The Hindu News Update Service

 

[icecoolben]

India should have organised a bangla specific aid programme long ago, as it now does for bhutan, nepal, maldives etc. The proposed free trade zone would definitely help a lot. I heard of a UN sponsored road linking india- bangladesh-myanmar-asean countries when is that plan going to start.

 

[RPK]

fullstory

Bangladesh for making primary education compulsory

Dhaka, Sept 3 (PTI) A committee working on new education policy in Bangladesh has suggested making primary education free and compulsory, even as it also recommended upgraded curricula based on science, technology and environment.

The high-powered government committee has suggested extending primary education up to class VIII and secondary up to class XII, introducing upgraded curricula based on science, technology, environment and moral education.

"We have just received the report. We will review all the recommendations and then send the report to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and then finally to the cabinet," Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid told newsmen yesterday.



The draft of a new education policy has suggested making primary education free, universal and compulsory under new integrated education law forming Non-government Teachers Commission and Permanent Education Commission.

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

Bangladesh suit ban to save power​

The prime minister of Bangladesh has ordered male government employees to stop wearing suits, jackets and ties to save electricity. Sheikh Hasina told officials that doing so would minimise their use of air-conditioners. Bangladesh suffers from daily power cuts as power plants are unable to meet the country's demand.

Link

 

[Eagle_Flights]

BDR to set up camps every 5 kilometer along the border

BDR to set up camps every 5 kilometer along the border

Director general of the Bangladesh Riffles Maj Gen Moinul Islam said on Monday that justice must prevail in the Peelkhana mutiny trial regardless of the law employed.

"Whatever the law used, we want justice," Islam told reporters after a Durbar at the Bolipara-10 Rifles headquarters in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

He said reform of the border security force was proceeding at a good pace, while a decision on a new name for the BDR would be finalised next week.

"The new name might be the Bangladesh Border Guards," said Islam.

The BDR chief, however, said the main reasons for the reforms were to improve overall discipline and define responsibilities, while changes in name and insignia were less important.

He said proposals on more border camps had already been forwarded to the home ministry.

"Camps will be set up every five kilometres along the border," said Islam, who added camps in the Chittagong Hill Tracts would also be increased.

 

[sob]

BDR to set up camps every 5 kilometer along the border
He said proposals on more border camps had already been forwarded to the home ministry.

"Camps will be set up every five kilometres along the border," said Islam, who added camps in the Chittagong Hill Tracts would also be increased.

Does BDR plan to set up Customs posts on the borders ( refer Napoleon)

I do not understand what purpose will it serve setting up a camp every 5 km.With India sharing nearly 4000 Km of Boundary with BD, just imagine the number of camps required.

 

[leonblack08]

^^^^^^

I don't know how much that will help.We have already seen DST doing nothing to improve the situation,but the Govt. is claiming otherwise.But at least they are trying,good to see that.

 

[leonblack08]

'Grid to get 2252 MW by 2011'​

Sun, Aug 30th, 2009

Dhaka, Aug 30 (bdnews24.com)—At least 2,252 MW will be added to the national power grid by 2011, with a third of that to be generated by year-end, a parliamentary committee said on Sunday.

Officials at a meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on power said that 752 MW of electricity to be generated by December this year would reduce the chronic power outages across the country.

"An additional 1500 mega watts will be added to the grid by 2011," Subid Ali Bhuiyan, chairman of the standing committee, told reporters after the committee meeting in parliament building.

The chairman said the power situation had improved in the country due to efficient management of resources by the government.

He said the daily production of electricity had increased to 4250 MW from the previous 3700 MW since the government came to power in January.

Bhuiyan said his committee also stressed the need for exploiting renewable sources of energy such as solar, wind and wave.

"We have to meet the domestic energy necessities from renewable sources. Gas and coal should only be used for industrial purposes," he said.


BDnews24.

 

[leonblack08]

Does BDR plan to set up Customs posts on the borders ( refer Napoleon)

I do not understand what purpose will it serve setting up a camp every 5 km.With India sharing nearly 4000 Km of Boundary with BD, just imagine the number of camps required.

It will be able to have better check on smuggling,human traffickers and terrorists.I think India has BOP every 3 kms.So in this case Bangladesh's number is lower.It will help BDR patrol the area effectively.
BSF already uses jeeps,but we are lagging behind on that.There is a plan to provide motor cycles to BBG(new border force of Bangladesh).This will enhance the efficiency of patrolling the border.

 

[Rage]

I am inclined to believe that this action is being undertaken under political duress from India - particularly given the present electoral situation. However, here's why I believe this 'camp erection' is untenable:

• The Indo-Bangladesh border, spanning a total length of 4,095 km is the longest land border India shares with any of its neighbour countries. The existing and emerging threats along this border are conditioned, to a large extent, by two factors: 1) population migration and 2) the terrain. The most exigent issue is arguably, a demographic one- that of the illegal migration of Bangladeshis into India, to the extent that the very demographic complexion of some districts in states like Assam, West Bengal and Bihar have undergone dramatic, indelible transformations. These constitute a grave threat to local, indigenous identities particularly in states like Tripura where local tribal populations have been reduced to a minority - as do they adversely affect socio-economic variables like unemployment, law and order and housing. Bangladesh faces the very real crisis of lebensraum: it has a population density per sq. km. 3 times that of India, with 1/25th its land mass and 1/7th its population size, on account of which there is unmitigated population overflow into the relatively sparsely populated regions to the south-east: the Arkan side and the 'Seven Sisters' side of the Indian subcontinent in the North-east. Furthermore, this extensive, somewhat crude, rudimentary and inflexible monitoring mechanism, seems not to be countenanced by the fact that the five major rivers in the region, including the Sankosh, Kaliganj and Tursha, divide the flat plains into sections making travel extremely tedious and difficult. It is egregious, indeed overkill, because cross-border migration occurs largely in corridoors: Jhaukutty, Satrasal and Agomoni from the Kuegam side of the border to be precise; and along the South Salmara, Kedar, Binnachorra, and Balabhoot regions. Far better augmentation of the existing monitoring mechanism can be achieved by strengthening patrols and running agents within these corridoors. Truckloads of illegal goods also move on a daily basis from Dinhata and Sahebgunj in Cooch Behar.
  
  
• From the purely communal aspect, this trend is hazardous- as E.N. Rammohan, former Director General of the Border Security Force (BSF), notes that, over the years continual illegal migration of both Hindus and Muslims from Bangladesh has completely altered the demography of the borders in South Bengal. As the Census Report of 1991 observed, concurrent to a 51 percent rise in the average density of population in the country per square kilometer over the 1981 level, West Bengal recorded a quantum increase at 151 persons per square kilometer. Muslim and Hindu migrants also tend to settle in largely homogenous, exclusionary groups, facilitating a divisive, contumacious scenario that could act as a catalyst to communal dissent. In a status paper on illegal immigration filed in January 1999 in the Supreme Court in response to a petition, the Government of West Bengal admitted that 1,240,000 Bangladeshis who entered the State with travel documents between 1972 and 1998 had simply melted away into the local population, while another 570,000 had been pushed back into Bangladesh. The document further stated that, till 1997, the intercepted infiltrators in West Bengal were summarily dispatched, but after 1997 this practice was discontinued. Thus, according to Partha Ghosh, in some districts, the Bangladeshis in their desperate bid to seek refuge in India have even hijacked the legal procedure of immigration.
  
  
• Furthermore, the political landscape is affected by the fact that the border abuts five Indian states: West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura. Historically, the border, derived from the Radcliffe line drawn arbitarrily on a map, was never demarcated on ground. The result: inordinate complications with the border cutting through the middle of several villages and in some cases, houses where the front door opens into India and the rear into Bangladesh. This pecuiliar artifact of colonial vestiges has also led to the problem of enclaves: patches of territory claimed sovereign by both states within each others' borders. A joint working panel set up in 1974 to resolve the issue estimates that there are 51 Bangladeshi enclaves within Indian territory in total, with a cumulative area of 7,110 acres, and 111 Indian enclaves measuring 17,158 acres in Bangladesh. Inadequate census operations in Bangladesh mean that population figures for these enclaves are not available, but they may be assumed to be high. Similarly, there exist 52 pieces of land which belong to Bangladesh but are in the adverse possession of India and 49 pieces of land belonging to India that are in the adverse possession of Bangladesh. An ambitious enterprise such as this involving the erection of camps should not be undertaken before the resolution of these issues, for the placement of the camps further complicates competing claims to the validity of sovereignty enclaves.
  
  
• Unviable purely from the point of policing- Despite the limitations in the number of authorized transit checkpoints for goods and people along the border, people continue to cross over with consummate ease. The ethno-cultural proximity of populations on both sides of the border, the absence of effective physical barriers and inadequate vigilance by officials particularly in West Bengal and Bangladesh, have engendered a situation in which irregular and unofficial trade across both sides of the border thrives. The total volume of unofficial exports to Bangladesh is estimated at as much as 11.65 billion Rupees annually, for which West Bengal accounts for approximately 96 percent. The livelihoods of several people depend upon the transaction of this copious, yet unlicensed activity- and I am not so sure it would be such a good idea atleast now to close it down.
  
  
• All this is complicated by the elaborate network of border agents and stakeholders that has emerged along the border. Migration takes place primarily through armed gangs with the active support and connivance of local politicians- primarily for electoral ends. I fear the "border checkposts" will become yet another ganglion in the never-ending flow of corruption and nepotism.

I acknowledge, with gratitude, the contribution of the article "India-Bangladesh: Restoring Sovereignty on Neglected Borders" by Lakshman Kanchaan and Sanjay K. Jha to this post.

 

[RPK]

India to discuss Tipaimukh with Bangla's Foreign Minister

India to discuss Tipaimukh with Bangla's Foreign Minister : 07th sep09 ~ E-Pao! Headlines

Imphal, September 06, 2009: The entire gamut of bilateral ties, including the Tipaimukh dam issue, sharing of river waters, trade, border management and combating terrorism, are expected to come up for discussion at a "congenial ambience" during Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni's 4-day visit to India beginning tomorrow

This is Moni's first official trip to the neighbouring country since the installation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League to power eight months ago following the historic December 29 general elections in Bangladesh.

Officials said the bilateral ties, including the contentious issue of the hydro-electric Tipaimukh dam whose construction by India is opposed by the Opposition BNP here, are expected to be discussed during Moni's talks with her Indian counterpart SM Krishna.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, in his then capacity as External Affairs Minister, had held talks with Moni on February 9, when he visited Dhaka mainly to convey India's good wishes to the new Government led by Awami League, widely regarded as a traditional ally of the Congress party.

Officials familiar with Moni's visit process said India was keen to "bridge differences with Bangladesh" on sensitive matters like Tipakimukh and move ahead on trade and transit.

Trade, investment, sharing waters of the common rivers, including the Teesta, border management, connectivity and security issues were other topics likely to figure prominently during the MoniKrishna talks, they said.

Official sources said the two sides were likely to focus on enhancing connectivity and giving a fresh momentum to expanding economic engagement that would help in reducing "trust deficit" to resolve complex issues like border management, infiltration and illegal migration and terrorism.

Political and foreign analysts said the installation of Awami League and Congress to power in the two countries created a congenial ambience to settle the longstanding issues through constructive negotiations because of the historic links between the two parties since the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh.

The trade deficit is one such major issue while Dhaka has been pressing for long to remove para and non-tariff barriers to Bangladeshi exports in a bid to reduce the yawning trade gap that accounts for over USD 2,566 million.

Business analysts said Bangladesh looks for stepping up its exports to the landlocked seven North Eastern States and close the trade imbalance if the barriers were removed.

The two countries also share over 50 common rivers and there had not been any progress in distribution of waters of the seven other rivers, including the Teesta, though the landmark 1996 Ganges Water Treaty during the previous tenure of Hasina.

The proposed Tipaimukh Dam on the Barak River in Manipur dominated the centre stage of Bangladesh-India-relations in the past several months though New Delhi assured Dhaka nothing would be done under the project which could affect Bangladesh.

According to officials, India has made as many as four proposals, including the signing of an extradition treaty, mutual legal assistance against terrorism and exchange of sentenced prisoners, to be signed between the two countries.

"We have suggested going ahead with the proposals after considering our laws, but the final decision has to be made by the highest office of the Government," said an official familiar with the process.

Moni's visit comes as India has been seeking more land-route connectivity through Bangladesh to boost trading in its seven North Eastern States while it has a long-pending proposal seeking to use Bangladesh's port facilities alongside the road transit.

No major headway in this regard was witnessed in the past years in view of what analysts said "sensitivity" in bilateral relations.

"All these issues are under discussion and we are expecting them to take a shape as Foreign Minister Dipu Moni is visiting New Delhi.

Let us see how best we can reach agreements on these issues," Indian High Commissioner Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty recently told PTI as he emphasised the importance of "political will" in making the longstanding proposals.