Last year, Bangladesh fetched home about 60 billion US dollars from goods exports, he said, adding that readymade garment export makes up 82 per cent of the country’s annual income….reports Asian Lite News
Bangladesh has embarked on a high growth path with an aim to double its export earnings in just four years, country’s Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said.
Addressing a meeting with the Overseas Correspondents Association of Bangladesh (OCAB) at the National Press Club in Dhaka on Saturday, he said the government has planned an export target of 100 billion US dollars by 2026.
“We’re planning an export target of 80 billion US dollars by 2024 and 100 billion US dollars in 2026,” Xinhua news agency reported quoting the minister.
Last year, Bangladesh fetched home about 60 billion US dollars from goods exports, he said, adding that readymade garment export makes up 82 per cent of the country’s annual income.
He said ready-made garments (RMG), including knitwear and woven, would be given a special priority as always to achieve goods export target.
“We’ve potential to export more readymade garments,” said the minister, adding the country’s ready-made garments industry sector looks bright further as China has already announced to raise duty-free access to 98 per cent Bangladeshi products.
Apart from this, he said China’s garment industry is relocating.
“As a result, our chances have increased. We’ve skilled manpower, and low cost of production.”
As part of various efforts to bolster export, the minister said the government is taking special initiatives to increase the export of 10 products including ICT, leather, plastic, light engineering and jute.
“Bangladesh has already started working to address challenges hindering export growths,” he said, adding they are attaching very importance to sign more PTA (preferential trade agreement) or FTA (free trade agreement).
“We have already preferential trade agreement with Bhutan. Negotiations are underway seriously to conclude trade agreements like PTA or FTA with several other countries.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also met President Droupadi Murmu and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar in New Delhi….reports Asian Lite News
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday met Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in New Delhi during her four-day visit to India.
Hasina began her four-day visit to India yesterday as Bangladesh is an important partner under India’s “Neighbourhood First” policy.
Soon after arriving in New Delhi on Monday, Bangladesh Prime Minister met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and discussed issues of bilateral interest. She also visited Nizamuddin Aulia Dargah, a prominent pilgrimage tourist attraction in Delhi.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also met President Droupadi Murmu and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar in New Delhi.
While welcoming Sheikh Hasina to Rashtrapati Bhavan, the President said that “our shared history, language and culture connect us with each other”, according to a statement released by Rashtrapati Bhavan.
President noted that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, bilateral ties between India and Bangladesh have grown immensely. She further said that the way the two countries have celebrated the 50th year of Bangladesh’s independence and the golden jubilee of India-Bangladesh bilateral relations is truly special.
The President was happy to note that Bangladesh has achieved great success in the socio-economic prosperity of its people. She assured me that India will continue to be a reliable partner in the developmental journey of Bangladesh.
Earlier today, Sheikh Hasina met Prime minister Narendra Modi and held bilateral talks to review and further strengthen the relationship between both countries at Hyderabad House, following which seven MoUs have been signed between India and Bangladesh during the visit of Sheikh Hasina to India. (ANI)
Bangladesh is now India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia. Bilateral trade has grown from $9 billion to $18 billion in the last five years…reports Asian Lite News
India and Bangladesh signed seven Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) in New Delhi on Tuesday aimed at boosting ties between the two countries.
The MoUs, signed after delegation level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his visiting Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina, are related to water sharing, railways, space, science and judiciary.
Prime Minister Modi said that the trade between the two countries is rapidly increasing, adding that: “We have decided to extend cooperation in the IT, space and nuclear sectors.”
The pacts inked between the two countries will benefit southern parts of Assam in India and the Sylhet region in Bangladesh, Prime Minister Modi said.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, he welcomed Hasina at Rashtrapati Bhavan, where she was accorded the ceremonial Guard of Honour.
Following the signing of the MoUs, senior officials from both sides exchanged the agreements.
Arindam Bagchi, Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs tweeted: “Powering the India-Bangladesh partnership! PM @narendramodi and PM Sheikh Hasina jointly unveiled Unit-I of the Maitree Super Thermal Power Project. Being constructed under India’s concessional financing scheme, the Project will add 1320 MW to Bangladesh’s National Grid.”
The Maitree Power Plant will give citizens of Bangladesh access to affordable electricity.
“Bangladesh is the biggest trade partner in the region. The people-to-people connectivity between both countries have increased. The expansion of connectivity and trade infrastructure at borders will help in the growth of both countries,” Prime Minister Modi said.
He asserted that both countries will cooperate further to mitigate the impact of floods and data will be shared in real-time for an extended period.
On counter-terrorism, the Prime Minister said: “Today we also stressed on cooperation against terrorism and fundamentalism. To keep the spirit of 1971 alive, it is also very necessary that we face such forces together, who want to attack our mutual trust.”
The Bangladesh Prime Minister last visited India in 2019.
Prime Minister Modi had visited Bangladesh in 2021 – the year that marked the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh independence and the 100th birth anniversary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of the nation and the father of Bangladesh Prime Minister Hasina.
Also, in 2021, Maitri Diwas celebrations were held in 20 capitals around the world including Delhi and Dhaka.
Bangladesh is an important partner under India’s ‘neighbourhood first’ policy. The cooperation extends to all fields including security, trade and commerce, power and energy, transport and connectivity, science and technology, defence, rivers, maritime affairs among others.
Bangladesh is now India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia. Bilateral trade has grown from $9 billion to $18 billion in the last five years.
Bangladesh has become the fourth largest export destination for India with growth of over 66 per cent from $9.69 billion in FY 2020-21 to $16.15 billion in FY 2021-22.
Teesta water sharing issue to be resolved, says Hasina
Meanwhile, Hasina expressed hope that the row over sharing water of Teesta river — a key bone of contention between her country and India — will be resolved soon.
“Both the countries have resolved several long-standing issues keeping the spirit of cooperation and friendship in mind. I hope that all other issues, including water sharing of Teesta river, would be resolved soon,” the visiting Bangladeshi Prime Minister said.
Disagreements between the two countries over the allocation of the river water has remained a subject of conflict for several decades. Many meetings held on the issue could not produce much results.
Bangladesh has been demanding an equal share in the distribution of the river water.
In this direction, a treaty was also to be signed between India and Bangladesh in 2011 during then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s trip to the neighbouring country.
However, the agreement could not be inked due to stiff opposition from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Hasina, who is on a four-day tour to India, said: “The water is emerging from the Indian side… Hence, India should show its large-heartedness.”
The Bangladeshi Prime Minister said she hopes that her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi will look into all the issues pertaining to the bilateral relationship, including Teesta water sharing.
Chinese economic involvement in the South Asian region is often accompanied by corruption and crime that Chinese government-affiliated companies habitually use in the region to gain an unfair advantage….reports Asian Lite News
Chinese companies are often found involved in malpractices that cause huge losses to several South Asian countries where they operate.
Bangladesh is one such country that seems to have suffered from the unethical behaviour of the Chinese companies. Bangladesh authorities have found many cases of tax evasion by Beijing-based companies or their subsidiaries in Dhaka, Bangladesh live news reported.
In a recent example, a case involving a Chinese company in tax evasion came to light. A Chinese company ‘Conda Art Materials Bangladesh Co. Limited’, subsidiary of Ningbo Conda Art Supplies Group Co Ltd. (China), supposedly imported goods labelled ‘Made in Bangladesh’ from China and evaded huge amounts of duty.
Bangladesh authorities suspect evasion of more than 28 crore rupees in about 200 consignments, as per the publication. It added that further investigation revealed that the company was violating the EPZ (Export Processing Zone) policy which stipulated that only raw materials could be imported. However, the company was importing finished products instead of raw materials and re-exporting the same products to other countries
In April and May this year, authorities, on suspicion of duty evasion, seized about 10 vans and seven containers loaded with goods which the company apparently imported from China by manipulating and luring some Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) officials.
In July, a large consignment of 2700 cartons of foreign liquor from China was seized on Chittagong-Dhaka highway in a special operation by authorities, as per Bangladesh live news.
Back in January, a Chinese company, DG Anti-Fake Company, supplied fake bandrolls (a thin band wrapped around bidis and cigarette packets) leading to fraudulent tax evasion of Rs 250 crore for Bangladesh. The agency has also been accused of being involved in printing fake Bangladeshi passports, ballot papers, national identity cards, birth registration certificates.
Chinese economic involvement in the South Asian region is often accompanied by corruption and crime that Chinese government-affiliated companies habitually use in the region to gain an unfair advantage.
Estimates suggest that China accounts for the largest illicit financial flows related to corrupt business practices by value globally, particularly to developing countries.
Meanwhile, between 2011 and 2021, China invested USD 10 billion in infrastructure in Bangladesh but according to some media reports, Beijing had missed fulfilling the promises on several deals signed during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Dhaka in October 2016.
After missing several deadlines, work on Karnaphuli multiple road tunnel project in Bangladesh’s Chittagong district, inaugurated by Chinese President Xi Jinping virtually in 2017, started in 2020.
Being built by China Communication and Construction Company Limited, the 9.3 km long tunnel project would be completed not before 2023, said the Daily Star in its recent report.
The Bangladesh government needs to be careful if it wants to avoid the same fate as Sri Lanka, which is struggling with its worst economic crisis due to the huge Chinese loan debt. (ANI)
The dargah is the mausoleum of the famous Sufi Nizamuddin Auliya and his disciple Amir Khusrau…reports Asian Lite News
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday visited the much-revered Dargah Nizamuddin Aulia in Delhi on the first day of her four-day visit to India and offered prayers.
PM Hasina, who arrived here earlier in the day, went around the almost 700-year-old Dargah – the nerve centre of Sufi culture in India.
“Prime Minister Hasina offered prayers and munajat, seeking development, prosperity and welfare of the country, the nation as well as the entire Muslim community,” PM’s Deputy Press Secretary KM Shakhawat Moon told journalists.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina begins her 4-day India trip with a visit to the Nizamuddin Dargah in Delhi
PM Hasina was a regular visitor to the dargah during her stay in Delhi from 1975 to 1981 following the assassination of her father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The dargah is the mausoleum of the famous Sufi Nizamuddin Auliya and his disciple Amir Khusrau.
Hasina had also written to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressing her desire to meet her during her India visit in a bid to break the deadlock…reports Sumi Khan
Seen in Bangladesh as a close friend of India, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who reached Delhi on Monday afternoon, is always under pressure back home to show “tangible gains” from the relationship.
When she first came to power in 1996, India’s United Front government delivered for her the Ganges water-sharing treaty. West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu and then Communist Home Minister Indrajit Gupta also played a major role in sorting out the tribal insurgency in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
That gave Hasina much to show to her voters back home but did not help her win the next election in 2001. A border skirmish in the Northeast provoked an anti-India surge in Bangladesh and many believe that it sank Hasina’s boat.
Her long tenure in power since January 2009 has been marked by a golden decade of development. She has done much to address India’s security and connectivity concerns, cracking down on Northeast Indian rebels sheltered by the BNP-Jamaat regime and granting India use of her ports to access the Northeast.
But except the land boundary agreement marking the resolution of the problems of border enclaves, Hasina and successive governments in Delhi have come a cropper in taking forward the water sharing agreement on Teesta and other common rivers.
On the eve of her visit to Delhi, Hasina had said that she expects India to be generous on the water-sharing issue. But she was quick to flag Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intent to resolve the issue.
Hasina had also written to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressing her desire to meet her during her India visit in a bid to break the deadlock.
The tense Modi-Mamata relationship further complicates what Delhi can do to address the water-sharing issue.
India may deliver on many fronts like providing additional line of credit for key projects or even a support fund in case Bangladesh’s forex reserves drop sharply (as New Delhi provided to Sri Lanka) but the river water is an emotive issue in Bangladesh with its large agrarian population.
“A mature politician like Jyoti Basu understood what Mamata Banerjee is unwilling to concede. That Hasina needs to show her people real gains from her close relationship with India. The Mamata factor is now the biggest irritant in bilateral ties,” says Sukharanjan Dasgupta, a Kolkata-based columnist who authored books on Bangladesh.
The need to show real gains from India has never been more pressing for Hasina.
With adverse economic headwinds forcing her government to sharply hike fuel prices and enforce substantial power cuts — unpopular moves — Hasina needs to show her people a breakthrough on the river water issue and Indian support for resolving the Rohingya refugee issue which constitutes a huge economic burden for Bangladesh.
Along with the river waters issue, Hasina also called for Indian support to resolve the Rohingya issue, but India has much less influence on Myanmar’s military junta than China.
The Indian foreign office has already flagged the importance of Hasina’s visit and the high importance Delhi accords to its ties with Dhaka.
But with Hasina facing parliament polls in a year’s time, observers say it is now payback time for India. They say the “India factor” in Bangladesh politics needs to be clearly understood by policymakers in Delhi and deliverables provided to Hasina at perhaps the most critical juncture in her long current tenure.
Hasina began her four-day visit to India yesterday as Bangladesh is an important partner under India’s “Neighbourhood First” policy…reports Asian Lite News
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina received ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi received Bangladesh PM as she arrived at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Sheikh Hasina shook hands with PM Modi. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was also present. Bangladesh Prime Minister Hasina is set to meet President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar today. Apart from it, she will also meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Hasina began her four-day visit to India yesterday as Bangladesh is an important partner under India’s “Neighbourhood First” policy.
Soon after arriving in New Delhi on Monday, Bangladesh Prime Minister met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and discussed issues of bilateral interest. She also visited Nizamuddin Aulia Dargah, a prominent pilgrimage tourist attraction in Delhi.
Under the visionary leadership of Prime Ministers, Narendra Modi and Sheikh Hasina, India and Bangladesh have attained tangible results in several areas including settling land and maritime boundary demarcation, security, connectivity, development cooperation, cultural exchange, power and energy, trade and commerce, blue economy, defence.
PM Hasina was welcomed by Darshana Jardosh, Minister of State for Textiles and Railways in New Delhi upon her arrival here on Monday. Shiekh Hasina’s visit is crucial and will further strengthen the multifaceted relationship between India and Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Prime Minister also got clicked with the dancers who welcomed her. Issues which are on top of the agenda are upgrading defence cooperation, expanding regional connectivity initiatives and establishing stability in South Asia.
This visit is her first visit after both nations’ bilateral relations touched their 50th year in 2021. Last year also marked the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence and the 100th birth anniversary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of the nation.
PM Modi visited Bangladesh in 2021. Maitri Diwas celebrations were held in 20 capitals around the world including Delhi and Dhaka. Prime Ministers of both countries have met 12 times since 2015.
India and Bangladesh have sought to create a model for regional cooperation besides reviving several connectivity initiatives over the last few years. The Akhaura-Agartala rail link will reopen soon, and it is anticipated that Agartala and Chittagong will be connected by air in a few weeks.
Bangladesh is an important partner under India’s “Neighbourhood First” policy. The cooperation extends to all fields including security, trade & commerce, power & energy, transport & connectivity, science & technology, defence, rivers, and maritime affairs among others.
Bangladesh is now India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia. Bilateral trade has grown from USD 9 billion to USD 18 billion in the last five years. Bangladesh has become the fourth largest export destination for India with a growth of over 66 per cent from USD 9.69 billion in FY 2020-21 to USD 16.15 billion in FY 2021-22.
Despite the COVID pandemic, both countries were able to achieve progress on important connectivity initiatives. Bangladesh is India’s largest development partner with nearly one-fourth of the Government of India (GoI) commitment under the GoI Line of Credit (LoC) has been made to Bangladesh. Total contracts have crossed the milestone figure of USD 2 billion and total disbursements have crossed USD 1 billion.
India has been a hub of medical treatment for Bangladesh nationals. Of the 2.8 lakh visas issued in 2021, 2.3 lakh were medical visas. Bangladesh is currently India’s biggest visa operation globally. In 2019, 13.63 lakh visas were issued. (ANI)
The visit will further strengthen the multifaceted relationship between the two countries based on strong historical and cultural ties and mutual trust and understanding…reports Sumi Khan
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who will be visiting India, after three years, on a four-day state visit from Monday, will meet her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Tuesday.
The Rohingya issue may find prominence in their talks and Bangladesh is keen on cooperation in energy and food security with India, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr A.K. Abdul Momen said in a media briefing on Sunday.
The visit is seen as significant amid the Ukraine crisis, global economic downturn and ongoing Covid-19 pandemic as the two South Asian neighbors seek enhanced cooperation to overcome the challenges, he added.
Issues related to security cooperation, investment, enhanced trade relations, power and energy sector cooperation, water sharing of common rivers, water resources management, border management, combating drug smuggling and human trafficking are likely to get priority during the talks between the two Prime Ministers.
The visit will further strengthen the multifaceted relationship between the two countries based on strong historical and cultural ties and mutual trust and understanding.
The Prime Minister will be formally received by Modi while a ceremonial guard of honour will be accorded to her. She will pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat.
During her visit, Hasina will meet Indian President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar apart from holding bilateral consultations with her Indian counterpart at the Hyderabad House.
Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will call on Hasina, who is also likely to visit Ajmer also. She is also scheduled to attend a lunch to be hosted by Modi.
She is expected to award the Mujib Scholarship, an initiative of the Bangladesh government, to the descendants of 200 Indian Armed Forces personnel who were martyred and critically injured during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.
At the minister-level meeting of the Joint River Commission (JRC) between Bangladesh and India on August 25, a draft memorandum of understanding on withdrawal of water from the upstream of the Kushiyara river flowing from India to Sylhet of Bangladesh was finalised. Besides, four more MoUs have been finalised for signing.
The Foreign Minister said a preparation is going on to sign MoUs relating to withdrawal of water from the upstream of Kushiyara river, cooperation between national defence colleges of the two countries, cooperation between judicial authorities, modernisation of rail and capacity building, and cooperation between information and communication sector.
Moreover, cooperation between the blue economy and two MOUs signed earlier between two broadcasting authorities will be renewed. A diplomat, on condition of anonymity, said during her visit to India, a MoU is likely to be signed with Indian multinational company GMR to import hydropower from Nepal.
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen was also present at the media briefing.
The Prime Minister will lead a high-level delegation which includes several ministers, advisers, state ministers, secretaries and senior officials.
Representatives from business bodies of Bangladesh will also accompany Hasina, who is also scheduled to attend a business event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries.
Five years later, Rohingyas in Rakhine State still lack freedom of movement and other basic rights such as access to adequate food, health care and education…reports Asian Lite News
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation has paid tribute to the government and people of Bangladesh for their efforts to provide protection, hospitality and assistance to the Rohingya refugees who have been living in Bangladesh for the past five years.
August 25 marked five years since the start of the massive refugee influx of Rohingya people and other communities from Myanmar’s Rakhine State into Bangladesh.
The OIC paid tribute to the international support provided, including from the member states, for the refugees.
In 2017, Myanmar’s military began carrying out violent operations against the Rohingya population in the northern part of Rakhine State, which resulted in grave crimes under international law and forced hundreds of thousands to flee.
Five years later, Rohingyas in Rakhine State still lack freedom of movement and other basic rights such as access to adequate food, health care and education.
This anniversary was a reminder that the crimes committed against the Rohingya require accountability, the OIC said.
It reiterated its firm support for the Rohingya people and called on the international community to stand firm with them in their plight, and to redouble efforts to protect their human rights, including their right to full citizenship, and to ensure favorable conditions for the safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable return of all Rohingya refugees and internally displaced persons to their homeland.
The OIC expressed the hope that the recent ruling of the International Court of Justice to dismiss the preliminary objections of Myanmar would contribute to mobilizing effective international action to provide more support for the Rohingya people and contribute to finding a solution to their suffering.
Dhaka, UN seek to raise $881m
Bangladesh and UN agencies yesterday presented their Joint Response Plan 2022, seeking to raise $881 million in humanitarian assistance for the Rohingyas and the Bangladeshi host communities.
This is the first time the JRP sought $100 million for the Roingyas in Bhasan Char, where the government has set up a housing facility at the cost of $360 million for one lakh Roingyas.
So far, about 26,000 refugees have been relocated there.
The JRP 2022, virtually launched in Geneva, will support approximately 1.4 million people — 918,000 Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char, and 540,000 Bangladeshis in neighbouring communities.
Presented by UNHCR Director of External Relations Dominique Hyde, the JRP 2022 wants to make sure that the Rohingya situation does not become a forgotten crisis.
“It is therefore vital to ensure continued funding and support to meet the needs of the refugees and surrounding host communities.”
Refugees in the Kutupalong Rohingya Refugee Camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, in July, 2018. (Photo: UN/IANS)
The JRP highlights the need for enhanced efforts towards disaster risk management and climate change mitigation, including through reforestation and energy interventions.
Hyde said the solutions to the Rohingya crisis ultimately lie within Myanmar, but steadfast support from the international community is crucial to delivering lifesaving protection and assistance services for the refugees until they can return to Myanmar.
At the launch, Shahriar Alam, state minister for foreign affairs, said the international community, including the UN, must intensify their focus on the permanent solution — the sustainable return and reintegration of Rohingyas in Myanmar.
“We must not forget the environmental and ecological aspects in and around the camp areas. No project under the JRP should further deteriorate the landscape and ecosystem, rather projects should be there to restore and improve the situation.
“We urge the international community to do everything possible to arrange their [the Rohingya refugees’] early, voluntary and sustainable repatriation,” he said.
Myanmar authorities are yet to demonstrate genuine political will to resolve the crisis, he said, calling for the international community to create an environment conducive to their return in Rakhine state.
“The international community must not shy away from their responsibility to resolve the crisis and relieve Bangladesh from the burden.”
According to Dr. Siegfried O. Wolf’s analysis, there are demands to designate the Islamic radical group as a terrorist group….reports Asian Lite news
Bangladesh is gripped by challenges posed by hardline Islamic group Hefazat-e-Islam as the country continues to witness frequent outbursts of massive violence, increase in religiously motivated illiberalism, and a general shrinking of free, liberal, and secular thinking, a thinktank South Asia Democratic Forum (SADF) reported.
The South Asia Democratic Forum (SADF) is a Brussels-based think tank devoted to South Asia and its relationship with the European Union (EU) in the context of a global, changing world.
As per a report written by Dr. Siegfried O. Wolf, Director of Research at SADF, though in recent years, the number of terrorist incidents and related casualties have steadily declined in Bangladesh yet the problem of Islamist extremism remains.
Under the research report titled “The Hefazat-e-Islam and the Islamist challenge in Bangladesh”, the SADF research director noted that HeI is the most recent and largest entity in Bangladesh’s complex web of ultra-conservative, radicalised Islamist groupings.
He defined the group as by a large variety of terms, for instance — a Islamist pressure group, an Islamist advocacy movement, an ultraconservative Islamist group, a socio-political extremist group, or an Islamic social movement.
According to his analysis, there are demands to designate the Islamic radical group as a terrorist group.
While speaking on the challenges posed by the group, the SADF director said the terms used for the group do not really give out the complete picture as to how HeI is challenging the secular and democratic foundations of the state – and how it is contributing to the menace of violent Islamism in Bangladesh.
In retrospect, he noted that for over a decade, Bangladesh witnessed not only violent mass protests and vandalism stirred by HeI supporters but also a firm counter-reaction by the government – so as to protect the state, citizenry, and law and order more generally speaking.
Many senior members of the HeI were arrested for their role in public unrest, and as the organisation also suffered from a leadership crisis, some analysts even concluded that the Islamist organisation became much less of a threat.
However, he pointed out, that such an assessment is short-sighted since it does not consider the facts on the ground. It also fails to understand the Islamist menace in Bangladesh (and beyond) in general – and the the HeI organisation in particular.
The SADF director was educated at the Institute of Political Science (IPW) and South Asia Institute (SAI), both at Heidelberg University.
Additionally, he is a member (affiliated researcher) of the SAI as well as a former research fellow at IPW and Centre de Sciences Humaines (New Delhi, India). Dr Wolf works as a consultant to NATO-sponsored periodic strategic independent research and assessment of Afghanistan-Pakistan issues. (ANI)
