Bangladesh and LeT: Separating assertion from verification

By Dr. Mohammad Asaduzzaman*

began reporting on 10 November that the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) may be seeking to use Bangladeshi territory to conduct attacks in India. These reports emerged soon after the vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) attack near the , which killed at least 13 people and injured more than 20. Indian authorities have described the incident as a terror attack and detained at least nine Indian nationals for suspected involvement. While there has been no official attribution from the Indian government, several Indian media reports have linked the attack to either the LeT or the Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), another Pakistan-based armed group.

Both the LeT and the JeM have been implicated in high-impact attacks in India over the past two decades. The LeT has claimed or been linked to the 2001 Parliament attack, the 2005 Delhi bombings, the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the 2010 Pune bombing, and the 2025 Pahalgam attack. The JeM has claimed responsibility for the 2001 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly bombing and is suspected in the 2016 Uri and 2019 Pulwama attacks. India considers both groups to be supported by elements within Pakistan, and their activities have contributed to several periods of heightened tension between the two countries.

These armed groups are also designated as terrorist organizations by the United Nations, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Russia, Canada, Australia, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Bangladesh’s designation reflects its legal obligations under UN Security Council resolutions rather than any involvement in India’s disputes with these organizations.

Successive governments in Bangladesh—regardless of party—have pursued a policy of “zero tolerance” toward terrorism. Measures include the ; counter-terrorism units within the Bangladesh Police, , and ; and public positions by major political parties rejecting violent extremism. Bangladesh has also formally conveyed condolences to India following incidents such as the recent Red Fort attack.

Bangladesh’s ranking of 35th on the —compared with Pakistan at 2nd and India at 14th—indicates relatively lower levels of terrorism-related incidents. Bangladesh also ranks ahead of several major states with greater resources. While rankings are not definitive assessments, they suggest that the country has achieved some success in limiting terrorist activity. Against this backdrop, characterizing Bangladesh as a potential base for transnational operations requires careful substantiation.

The current claims regarding LeT activity in Bangladesh rely primarily on a video attributed to an LeT commander, Saifullah Saif, in which he reportedly states that LeT operatives are active in the country. Such statements, without corroborating evidence, cannot verify whether the group has operational networks in Bangladesh. Militant organizations often issue statements that inflate operational presence or capability as part of psychological or propaganda strategies.

Other reports cite unnamed sources claiming LeT leader Hafiz Muhammad Saeed has sent an associate to Bangladesh to recruit and train youth. While anonymous sourcing can sometimes be necessary, it is widely seen as insufficient on its own to support conclusions about cross-border militant activity. Indian media outlets have relied frequently on anonymous sources in recent reporting on Bangladesh, which warrants caution in interpreting such claims. If credible information exists, established channels for intelligence sharing between India and Bangladesh would provide the appropriate pathway for verification and response.

Speculation also links the recent improvement in Pakistan–Bangladesh relations to an alleged expansion of LeT influence in Bangladesh. However, Bangladesh’s efforts to normalize bilateral ties with Pakistan have not involved security cooperation, nor have they signaled any tolerance for armed groups. Normalization efforts are political and diplomatic in nature and have not been directed against any third country, including India.

These reports also occur in a broader media and political environment in which some Indian commentators have advanced highly contentious proposals related to Bangladesh, including military intervention or territorial adjustments. While such positions represent individual views rather than official policy, their prominence underscores the need for careful, evidence-based reporting on bilateral matters.

India and Bangladesh have established mechanisms for cooperation on security and counter-terrorism. If Indian authorities possess actionable intelligence on LeT or any other militant activity in Bangladesh, engaging Dhaka through these mechanisms would enable an appropriate and mutually beneficial response. Bangladesh has consistently indicated a willingness to cooperate with India on issues of security, provided such engagement is based on mutual respect and established diplomatic protocols. Clear communication and evidence-based dialogue remain essential as both countries navigate complex regional security dynamics.

---

*Professor, Department of Linguistics, University of Dhaka

Comments

Plastic burning in homes threatens food, water and air across Global South: Study

By Jag Jivan In a groundbreaking study spanning 26 countries across the Global South , researchers have uncovered the widespread and concerning practice of households burning plastic waste as a fuel for cooking, heating, and other domestic needs. The research, published in Nature Communications , reveals that this hazardous method of managing both waste and energy poverty is driven by systemic failures in municipal services and the unaffordability of clean alternatives, posing severe risks to human health and the environment.

From colonial mercantilism to Hindutva: New book on the making of power in Gujarat

By Rajiv Shah Professor Ghanshyam Shah ’s latest book, “ Caste-Class Hegemony and State Power: A Study of Gujarat Politics ”, published by Routledge , is penned by one of Gujarat ’s most respected chroniclers, drawing on decades of fieldwork in the state. It seeks to dissect how caste and class factors overlap to perpetuate the hegemony of upper strata in an ostensibly democratic polity. The book probes the dominance of two main political parties in Gujarat—the Indian National Congress and the BJP—arguing that both have sustained capitalist growth while reinforcing Brahmanic hierarchies.

From protest to proof: Why civil society must rethink environmental resistance

By Shankar Sharma* As concerned environmentalists and informed citizens, many of us share deep unease about the way environmental governance in our country is being managed—or mismanaged. Our complaints range across sectors and regions, and most of them are legitimate. Yet a hard question confronts us: are complaints, by themselves, effective? Experience suggests they are not.

Dalit woman student’s death sparks allegations of institutional neglect in Himachal college

By A Representative A Dalit rights organisation has alleged severe caste- and gender-based institutional violence leading to the death of a 19-year-old Dalit woman student at Government Degree College, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, and has demanded arrests, resignations, and an independent inquiry into the case.

Economic superpower’s social failure? Inequality, malnutrition and crisis of India's democracy

By Vikas Meshram India may be celebrated as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, but a closer look at who benefits from that growth tells a starkly different story. The recently released World Inequality Report 2026 lays bare a country sharply divided by wealth, privilege and power. According to the report, nearly 65 percent of India’s total wealth is owned by the richest 10 percent of its population, while the bottom half of the country controls barely 6.4 percent. The top one percent—around 14 million people—holds more than 40 percent, the highest concentration since 1961. Meanwhile, the female labour force participation rate is a dismal 15.7 percent.

Kolkata event marks 100 years since first Communist conference in India

By Harsh Thakor* A public assembly was held in Kolkata on December 24, 2025, to mark the centenary of the First Communist Conference in India , originally convened in Kanpur from December 26 to 28, 1925. The programme was organised by CPI (ML) New Democracy at Subodh Mallik Square on Lenin Sarani. According to the organisers, around 2,000 people attended the assembly.

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

The architect of Congolese liberation: The life and legacy of Patrice Lumumba

By Harsh Thakor* Patrice Émery Lumumba remains a central figure in the history of African decolonization, serving as the first Prime Minister of the independent Republic of the Congo. Born on July 2, 1925, Lumumba emerged as a radical anti-colonial leader who sought to unify a nation fractured by decades of Belgian rule. His tenure, however, lasted less than seven months before his dismissal and subsequent assassination on January 17, 1961.

Venezuela and the crisis of global order: Erosion of rules-based international order

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The American attack on Venezuela violates every principle of international law that the collective West claims to uphold. The response from the European Union—“we are monitoring the situation”—exposes the hollowness of these claims. WhatsApp gossipers may celebrate this as an act of “bravery,” but what kind of bravery is it to intimidate a neighbour that is neither large in size nor strong in military power?

Search This Blog