Bangla to crack down on terror

DHAKA, Jan 29 – Bangladesh’s new government is proposing a South Asian anti-terrorist task force to tackle cross-border movements of militants. The proposal for such a force was floated in the election manifesto of the ruling Awami League party of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed and envisages setting up a cooperative mechanism with police forces and judiciaries of neighbouring countries to “track down militants and bring them to justice”. Hasina outlined this proposal while speaking in the Parliament, where she said her new government has issued orders to uproot militancy in the country while an initiative was under way to pursue the formation of a South Asian Anti-Terrorist Task Force. “I have already directed the ministries concerned to deracinate militancy and asked all intelligence agencies to activate themselves,” Hasina said. “I have also asked concerned authorities to find out their (terrorists’) patrons and financers and source of their weapons,” she said. The premier’s remarks assume significance as a number of Indian outlawed north-eastern insurgent groups are reported to have established safe havens in Bangladesh. New Delhi has been asking Dhaka to extradite some of the top leaders of the banned ULFA. Hasina said she has also asked madrassas to keep their institutions free from extremism, while warning of tough actions against banks and other institutions found involved in financing terror. “We will have multifaceted sincere efforts to control militancy,” the Prime Minister said.Foreign Minister Dipu Moni earlier said terrorism would be the priority agenda of their new government, installed with three-fourths majority in the December 29 general elections, while it would play a pioneering role for effective regional cooperation to fight militancy in South Asia. “Terrorism turned out to be a matter of worldwide concern (but) we will take effective steps in consultation with our neighbouring countries against it,” she told reporters on the first day in office earlier this month. Awami League proposed the formation of the regional taskforce to fight terrorism and militancy while Hasina in her post-election press conference reiterated it saying it could end the mutual blame game on the issue of terrorism “between the countries in our region”. – PTI