The Hindu : International : Bangladesh Government bans Harkat-ul-Jihad

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 19, 2005

International

International

Bangladesh Government bans Harkat-ul-Jihad

Haroon Habib

Harkat has been involved in carrying out terrorist activities in Bangladesh for half a decade

DHAKA: The Khaleda Zia Government has finally banned the Islamist outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI), in the awake of growing militancy and countrywide bombings.

A Government announcement said, "Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami is a self-confessed terrorist organisation. Its activities are very sensitive and it is identified as a terrorist organisation."

A press note issued by the Home Affairs Ministry on Monday said "on the basis of latest information, the Bangladesh Government has declared a ban on Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami and all of its activities."

HuJI, an international terrorist organisation, has been involved in carrying out terrorist activities in Bangladesh for half a decade.

It has been behind several major bomb attacks as well as assassination attempts on former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and some leading secular intellectuals.

Intelligence agencies had recommended in 2003 that HuJI be banned for the sake of the country's security. Despite being aware of the militant outfit's activities, the Government kept denying its existence over the last few years.

The ban follows the October 1 arrest of HuJI leader Mufti Abdul Hannan in Dhaka. Mufti Hannan fought in Afghanistan against the Soviet invasion during the 1980s and was alleged to have been involved in a plot to assassinate Sheikh Hasina in 2000. He is also being questioned about the nationwide bomb blasts on August 17.

With Monday's banning of the HuJI, the number of banned jihad organisations in Bangladesh now stands at four. The other outlawed outfits are Jamaatul Mijahideen Bangladesh (JMB), Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) and Shahdat al Hiqma.

Intellectuals targeted

The four outfits have been targeting intellectuals and secular politicians, who ideologically challenge the path of the radical Islamists.

The theocrats also oppose NGO activity as un-Islamic alleging that these organisations spread Western ideas of women empowerment and social transformation.

On August 17, the JMB claimed responsibility for the serial bombings across Bangladesh when nearly 500 bombs went off in all but one of the 64 districts.

Three persons were killed and 100 others injured in the blasts.

So far, about 400 suspects have been arrested from different parts of the country in connection with the August 17 bombings.

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