Dhaka emerges as new address for global terrorism

The biggest-ever arms seizure in Bangladesh on April 1-2 has rung alarm bells in India and has given food for thought for the international community. The arms haul also signifies a new emerging address of international terrorism: Bangladesh.

First, the incident. The seized consignment includes modern assault rifles (1790), grenade launchers (2000), rocket launchers (150), grenades (25020), rockets (840) and 1.1 million rounds of ammunition. The quality and quantity of the seized weaponry shows that it was meant for use against security forces. Which country or countries' security forces is a matter of investigation.

The arms were brought through the Arabian Sea route in two fishing trawlers which were unloaded at the government-owned Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Limited, located in front of Chittagong port in the Karunafuly river. The arms were being taken to Maulvi Bazar in Sylhet division where the camps of Indian insurgents are located. The consignment was seized by chance as one of the drivers of the 10 trucks used in the operation refused to pay to the policemen on duty.

Inputs available with the Government of India claim that these arms were sent by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for various Indian insurgents, including the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) and the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), Nepal Maoists and Kashmiri insurgents to create disturbances during the Indian general election and intensify the proxy war.

Obviously, both Dhaka and Islamabad would rubbish this contention. But there is something about the modus operandi which nails down the government of Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia. Witnesses have claimed that the arms were unloaded in the presence of policemen and local leaders of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

The Government of India has sought to handle the matter with kid gloves. Soon after the arms haul, the Ministry of External Affairs had an extensive session with the Bnagladesh High Commissioner in Delhi, Mr Tufail K Haider. The Bangladeshi envoy was conveyed New Delhi's serious concern.

It is understood that the "talking points” of the Indian Foreign Office to the Bangladeshi envoy were as black and white as diplomacy can allow. The Bangla envoy was told the following things in categoric terms:

The Government of India had reasons to believe that the lion's share of the seizure was meant for the United Liberation Front of Asom and other northeastern groups.

Such kind of weapons' transfer posed a threat to peace and security of the entire region.

It was the work of a well-organised network which must have pushed arms consignments clandestinely into India in the past too and which could do so in future too.

The activities of Bangladeshi shipping magnate Salahuddin Qader Chowdhury, who enjoys a Cabinet rank in the Begum Zia administration, needed to be watched and his possible role and involvement in the arms haul needed to be investigated.

Salauddin Qader Chowdhury is a Chittagong MP and Adviser (Parliamentary Affairs) to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. He is known to have been indulging in anti-India operations for quite some time and his Q C Shipping Lines has been used in the past for bringing arms for Indian insurgents. Haji Sobhan has close links with Salauddin. Two of his ships were docked in Chittagong port on the day of the seizure. In 1996 also he was instrumental in bringing in a huge consignment of arms into Bangladesh which was fortuitously captured near Chittagong port.

The April 1-2, 2004 operation was personally supervised by Sarwar Kamal Maruf, brother of BNP MP Sarwar Jamal Nizam, a close associate of Salauddin. Maruf is reported to have fled to Thailand.

The Indian Foreign Office has also asked Dhaka to keep updating it with progress in the investigations. The Foreign Office is in touch with the Bangladeshi High Commission in New Delhi and Bangladesh Foreign Office in Dhaka.

Though Dhaka has formed a high-level committee headed by the Home Secretary Umar Farooq to probe the April 1-2 arms seizure, not much progress has been made so far. Seven persons, including five labourers who were used in transporting the arms, have been arrested. The main suspect in this case is Hazi Abdul Sobhan, a local BNP leader of Patiya in Chittagong and owner of the two trawlers used for transporting the arms and he happens to be absconding.

A twist in the tale came on April 10 when Awami League leader and Mayor of Chittagong City Corporation, Mohinuddin Ahmed Chowdhury, alleged that the arms consignment was sent by the United States and Pakistan to arm Indian rebels camped in the Chittagong hill tracts. He also alleged that Indian rebels were running at least 50 to 60 camps in the Chittagong hill tracts and claimed that Bangladesh Army and Bangladesh Rifles personnel were offering training to these insurgents.

The diplomatic corps in Delhi says one thing with certainty: that the April1-2 arms haul will cast a long shadow over India-Bangladesh relations. The matter would dominate the talks between Border Security Force Director General Ajay Raj Sharma and the chief of the BDR when Mr Sharma travels to Dhaka on May 28.