​Bangladesh Emerging As 'Unintended Gateway' For Pakistan's Covert Operations Against India: Report

(MENAFN- IANS) Dhaka, Jan 20 (IANS) While Pakistan's global reputation as a state sponsor of terrorism is well known, what is deeply concerning is the emergence as an inadvertent conduit for Islamabad's secret operations. By permitting its territory to serve as a logistical and ideological base, Dhaka risks becoming embroiled in Pakistan's long-standing conflict with India, a report stated on Tuesday.

According to a report in leading Bangladeshi weekly 'Blitz', the signals of danger are evident as Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is once again using religion as a tool, exploiting borders, and deploying proxies to fuel instability in the region.

“For Pakistan's deep state, terrorism is not an aberration – it is doctrine. While the world remains distracted by diplomatic theatrics and hollow pledges of reform from Islamabad, Pakistan's ISI has quietly reactivated its most lethal playbook: proxy jihad against India. Timed ominously with India's Republic Day celebrations, fresh intelligence reveals that the ISI is orchestrating a multi-layered campaign of terror, subversion, and ideological warfare – stretching from West Bengal to Bangladesh, and extending into Indian diplomatic missions across the West,” it detailed.

Citing intelligence assessments, the report indicated that, under the direct operational coordination of the Pakistani ISI's "Dhaka Cell", trained operatives from the so-called "stranded Pakistani" community – in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) – are being systematically infiltrated across the Indo-Bangladesh border into Indian territory.

“These individuals are reportedly tasked with executing subversive and destabilising activities. The unit, referred to in intelligence dossiers as the 'Mohajir Regiment', consists of operatives aged between 18 and 40, including both male and female members. A subset of these operatives has received specialised training in the making of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and in conducting suicide attacks,” it mentioned.

The report stressed that since the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government assumed office in 2024, a series of policy shifts and ideological concessions have created a fertile environment for Islamist networks, reactivating long-dormant connections between the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Bangladeshi radical leaders

“For years, LeT founder Hafiz Saeed cultivated relationships with figures such as Mufti Harun Izhar and Ansar al-Islam chief Mufti Jashimuddin Rahmani. Those networks, intelligence sources confirm, are now being quietly reassembled,” it added.

Since late 2024 under the Yunus regime, the report said, Bangladeshi authorities have waived mandatory inspections for Pakistani shipments, abolished post-landing cargo checks, and scrapped security clearance procedures for Pakistani visa applicants.

“Diplomatic missions were instructed to stop seeking intelligence vetting altogether. Collectively, these measures open a perilous corridor for smuggling explosives, arms, narcotics, and terror finances – directly undermining India's eastern border security,” the Blitz report noted.

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