Secret agencies in Bangladesh have exposed the alleged nexus between pro-jihadist Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) who were planning to target the members of a court dealing with war crimes.
Bangladesh newspaper Blitz reported that a secret communication between BNP and a clandestine business outlet of Pakistani security agency named ARY has been recently tracked by an intelligence agency.
According to the report, a person named Towhidul Islam alias Ashiq Islam on December 4 communicated with an official of ARY Digital, asking for "immediate transfer" of the "committed fund" and said the fund is required "for that plan."
Towhidul, hailing from Bogura district, currently lives in the US. He was active with the infamous Hawa Bhaban during the 2001-2006 rule of the BNP. He also belongs to the "inner circle" of BNP leader Tarique Rahman, said Blitz.
It may be mentioned here that Towhidul had served in the office of the Prime Minister when Khaleda Zia was the Prime Minister from 2001 to 2006.
According to a credible source, the ISI is plotting the assassination of several members of a court that have been dealing with war crimes. It is anticipated that the Pakistani security agency might consider implementing its nefarious plan around the forthcoming Jatiya Sangsad (Parliament) elections in Bangladesh in.
Eyeing the upcoming general elections in Bangladesh, ISI operatives in UAE have increased their activities and are regularly contacting their agents in Bangladesh.
Seeking anonymity, a source told Blitz that the ISI has become desperate in re-establishing its influence in Bangladeshi politics and administration.
As a part of its plan, the agency is looking into various options in ousting the Awami League-led government and reinstate the BNP-Jamaat nexus into power.
While the ruling party in Bangladesh is confident of a third consecutive term, it is in the dark about some unforeseen situations, with the administration also gradually becoming inactive in aggressively helping the ruling party to remain in power, the source added.
Due to ISI's influence, a major segment of the Bangladeshi media has already started avoiding anti-ISI and anti-BNP-Jamaat news content, said Blitz. It added that the ruling party is not aware of the exact situation, the serious conspiracies and its possible consequences.
The business front of the ISI is Abdul Razzak Yaqoob (ARY). In December 2000, Yaqoob established a television channel to "to the growing demands of South Asian entertainment in the region." Now ARY has expanded to six television channels, such as ARY News, ARY Musik, ARY QTV (Quran TV), ARY Zindagi, ARY Family and ATN Urdu.
The ARY bouquet of channels uses Samacom, a "monopolising uplink provider" based in the UAE, as their uplink teleport station. The channel started off with a format closely resembling that of PTV (Pakistan Television) Prime.
Because of its special status of being a project of ISI, the network obtained a license for DTH (Direct to Home) operations in Pakistan. ARY network has built ARY Digital Tower, which is one of the tallest buildings in the United Arab Emirates.
In 2003, ARY Digital received criticism upon its airing of a prisoner's derogatory comments against the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC-3) and a video showing tonsured young girls behind bars begging for mercy. ARY News and particularly its Q-TV promotes radical Islam and Sharia rule.
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