Indian TV reports Huji plan to kill Hasina
Sunday, 21 December 2008
An Indian television network Saturday reported that Islamist militants were planning to assassinate Awami League (AL) president Sheikh Hasina. On the other hand, the home secretary the same day said: "Preventative measures are being taken after the report, reports bdnews24.com.
"We have adopted all preventive measures after CNN-IBN's telecast of a plan to assassinate Sheikh Hasina by Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami," Home Secretary Md Abdul Karim told the news agency Saturday.
But he declined to disclose the measures for "technical" reasons.
Quoting Indian intelligence sources, CNN-IBN had reported that the former Bangladesh Prime Minister was warned by the Indian intelligence agencies that a six-member suicide squad of the banned Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami Bangladesh or the HuJI had been assigned to kill her.
The report added the HuJI team had been trained under the watchful eye of a former Pakistani special forces officer named Ehetesham in a special training camp held at Kaliganj in Satkhira for the last two months.
The six men were personally briefed by HuJI chief Imtiaz Quddus at the end of the training, the report of Atlanta-based CNN's Indian cousin said.
A spokesperson for the Indian High Commission in Dhaka said he was not aware of it.
"We have no official comment on this issue," Deepak Mittal, the spokesperson, told the agency.
He said that he had come to know about the news from the agency's breaking news service Saturday.
AL spokesperson and Joint Secretary General Syed Ashraful Islam recently said they had reports that the party chief's life was in danger and sought highest security for her.
He, however, did not disclose any specific source to the media.
The government deployed special security force (SSF) for Hasina and BNP chief Khaleda Zia immediately after the AL demand.
Election Commissioner Sakhawat Hussain also spoke of his apprehension that the December 29 general election could be sabotaged.
But the police and the elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion ruled out the possibility.
The Election Commission (EC) had said initially that the army would be called out from December 24 for the election. Later, Army Chief Moeen U Ahmed said the army would be deployed from December 20.
Retired brigadier general Sakhawat asked the troops to be positioned by December 20 and asked them to start for their assigned posts from December 18.
The state of emergency was lifted from December 17.
Jamatul Mujaheedin Bangladesh (JMB) is another banned Islamist organisation, whose 20 activists were detained by the security forces in Nilphamari and Sylhet recently.
HuJI was established in Bangladesh in 1992 with the assistance of International Islamic Front, an organisation of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.
A group of top HuJI leaders demanded transforming Bangladesh into an Islamic state at a press conference at the National Press Club in Dhaka on April 30, 1992.
"We have adopted all preventive measures after CNN-IBN's telecast of a plan to assassinate Sheikh Hasina by Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami," Home Secretary Md Abdul Karim told the news agency Saturday.
But he declined to disclose the measures for "technical" reasons.
Quoting Indian intelligence sources, CNN-IBN had reported that the former Bangladesh Prime Minister was warned by the Indian intelligence agencies that a six-member suicide squad of the banned Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami Bangladesh or the HuJI had been assigned to kill her.
The report added the HuJI team had been trained under the watchful eye of a former Pakistani special forces officer named Ehetesham in a special training camp held at Kaliganj in Satkhira for the last two months.
The six men were personally briefed by HuJI chief Imtiaz Quddus at the end of the training, the report of Atlanta-based CNN's Indian cousin said.
A spokesperson for the Indian High Commission in Dhaka said he was not aware of it.
"We have no official comment on this issue," Deepak Mittal, the spokesperson, told the agency.
He said that he had come to know about the news from the agency's breaking news service Saturday.
AL spokesperson and Joint Secretary General Syed Ashraful Islam recently said they had reports that the party chief's life was in danger and sought highest security for her.
He, however, did not disclose any specific source to the media.
The government deployed special security force (SSF) for Hasina and BNP chief Khaleda Zia immediately after the AL demand.
Election Commissioner Sakhawat Hussain also spoke of his apprehension that the December 29 general election could be sabotaged.
But the police and the elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion ruled out the possibility.
The Election Commission (EC) had said initially that the army would be called out from December 24 for the election. Later, Army Chief Moeen U Ahmed said the army would be deployed from December 20.
Retired brigadier general Sakhawat asked the troops to be positioned by December 20 and asked them to start for their assigned posts from December 18.
The state of emergency was lifted from December 17.
Jamatul Mujaheedin Bangladesh (JMB) is another banned Islamist organisation, whose 20 activists were detained by the security forces in Nilphamari and Sylhet recently.
HuJI was established in Bangladesh in 1992 with the assistance of International Islamic Front, an organisation of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.
A group of top HuJI leaders demanded transforming Bangladesh into an Islamic state at a press conference at the National Press Club in Dhaka on April 30, 1992.