Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
| Photo Credit: PTI
GUWAHATI
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday (August 7) did not rule out the possibility of some extremist groups of the northeast setting up bases again in Bangladesh.
He also said the evolving political situation in Bangladesh after the violent fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government could pose a security threat to the region due to the probable displacement of people in the neighbouring country, especially religious minorities.
“The situation in Bangladesh is worrying for us for two reasons. If the unrest continues, many people will be desperate to cross over into India. This makes it imperative for us to secure our borders,” the Chief Minister told journalists at an event in eastern Assam’s Golaghat district.
“Moreover, extremist outfits of the northeast may try to exploit the tumultuous situation to set up bases in Bangladesh again, posing a renewed threat to our regional stability. During her tenure as the Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina uprooted all the terror groups of the region that were operating from Bangladesh,” Dr. Sarma said.
Eye on ULFA(I)
Barring a few such as the United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) headed by the fugitive Paresh Baruah, and Meghalaya’s Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council, most extremist groups in the northeast have either been disbanded, or are engaged in talks.
Beginning with Mizoram’s Laldenga and his Mizo National Front, many extremist groups of the northeast carried out hit-and-run operations in India from their bases in Bangladesh. Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence and Bangladesh’s Directorate General of Forces Intelligence allegedly helped these outfits set up hideouts in the country.
The ULFA established camps in Dhaka, Satcherri, and Sherpur in Bangladesh in 1991 and established close ties with the pro-Pakistan Bangladesh Nationalist Party headed by Khaleda Zia and other political parties, including the pro-India Awami League.
The ULFA was initially not troubled by the Awami League, which turned hostile toward all extremist groups of the northeast after coming to power in 2009. The leaders and members of most of these outfits were either driven away or handed over to India.
The capture of five members of the Isak-Muivah (I-M) faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) in Tripura’s Kailasahar area in October 2009 confirmed the group’s presence in Bangladesh. Caught by Border Security Force personnel after crossing into India, the five had escaped after killing six fellow NSCN (I-M) members at the outfit’s camp in Bangladesh’s Moulvi Bazar district.
