| Submit your comments on this article |
| India-Pakistan |
| Top ISI operative in Bangladesh shot |
| 2003-03-14 |
| An under-cover agent of the Pakistani ISI — operating from Dhaka and known to Indian intelligence agencies as 'Ahmed Mustakeen' — was shot dead under mysterious circumstances in the Bangladeshi capital on Monday. The Hindustan Times had reported on February 18 that Mustakeen was the "kingpin" of the ISI's network in Dhaka. He reportedly owned a restaurant on Dhaka's Jail Road and had been clandestinely working for the Pakistani agency for the last several years. He was married to the daughter of a senior Bangladeshi police officer of the rank of inspector-general. The ISI, and it's Indian equivalent RAW have been waging a covert war against each other for decades, so this sounds like just another hit by a RAW agent. There has been no breakthrough in the case yet. But sources in Dhaka said the police were following three theories. First, his disgruntled subordinates, who hadn't got their dues, did Mustakeen to death. The Dhaka police also suspect ''anti-ISI forces'' in Bangladesh who are not happy at the manner in which a section of the country's security apparatus is being run by the Pakistani intelligence agency working in tandem with its Bangladeshi counterpart, the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI). A large part of the Bangladeshi military and security services are friendly with their Pak counterparts due to Islamic solidarity and dislike of Indian 'hegemony'. They don't seem to concerned about the 1 to 3 million of the countrymen killed by the Pakistani army in 1971, but then a lot of them come from pro-Pakistani militias that worked alongside the Pak army against their own countrymen during Bangladesh's was for independance. Most of the Banladeshi Islamists, including the local branch of the Jamaat-e-Islami, also were involved in pro-Pakistan militias, and the primary role was conducting massacres of the Hindu population of East Pakistan (Bangladesh), because they were seen as being loyal to India. The Bangladesh authorities are also blaming Indian security agencies for having ''carried out the hit'' on Mustakeen. In the past, Dhaka has blamed Indian intelligence agencies — with or without evidence — for engineering political unrest in that country. And Bangladesh has turned a blind eye to the operations of a dozen separatist groups active in India's restive north easter provinces, giving many of their leaders a safe haven. This time, it seems that the Bangladeshi police are yet to come up with any clues to back up their claim. Considering the deep-cover activities of Mukstakeen, the Bangladesh authorities are unlikely to make a hue and cry about the incident which, if publicised, will only confirm Indian claims of the ISI's presence and penetration in that country. |
| Posted by:Paul Moloney |