Manas Dasgupta
NEWDELHI, Aug 22: The Border Security Force (BSF) troops have been put on high alert along the Indo-Bangladesh border after the police commissioner of Dhaka claimed that some radical Bangladeshi youths were trying to sneak into India to make their way to join the Taliban in Afghanistan.
“These youths are trying to reach Afghanistan somehow. Although we don’t know the exact number as it has not been communicated to us,” said the Police Commissioner of Dhaka, Shafikul Islam.
Reacting to Shafikul Islam’s remark, the DIG of BSF South Bengal Frontier SS Guleria said, “Our troops are on alert. So far, we have not arrested any youth trying to sneak into India.” Guleria also said authorities in Bangladesh had already conveyed to their counterparts in India that a few extremists in the country are extremely excited about the Taliban take-over of Afghanistan. Even the Taliban have reportedly made appeals to Bangladeshi youths to join them.
Bangladesh’s foreign ministry also stated that they “are carefully watching” the developments in Afghanistan. Accordingly, the BSF had already alerted troops deployed along border areas after Bangladesh expressed concern in this regard.
A BSF official said, “Bangladeshi radical outfits have been rejuvenated by the Taliban victory. These outfits were almost crippled successfully by Bangladesh authorities over the years. But it is also a fact that these outfits were maintaining contact with the Taliban at the same time,” the official added.
According to sources, some Bangladeshi radicals are trying to make their way to Afghanistan via India because they believe it is easier to get a visa through India. Twenty years back, several Bangladeshi youths had travelled to Afghanistan to join the Taliban.
With security concerns in mind, authorities in both India and Bangladesh are closely monitoring developments along border areas for any red flags.
(Manas Dasgupta)
