The arrest of Foreign Secretary Sasha Choudhury and Finance Secretary Chitraban Hazarika can be termed as a major blow to the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the Government of India must take advantage of the situation to bring the militant outfit to the negotiation table for a peaceful and long lasting solution to the problem of insurgency. The change of heart of the Government of Bangladesh is also evident as for the first time, the Government of the neighbouring country started yielding to pressure from Government of India and if such pressure continues, it will be tough for the ULFA leaders to keep using the territory of Bangladesh as a safe haven. After the Operation All Clear launched by Bhutan Government in 2003, in which, the camps of the ULFA, NDFB and the Kamatapur Liberation Organization (KLO) were busted, the senior leaders of the ULFA started staying mostly in Bangladesh and with the improvement of relations between India and Bangladesh, the ULFA leaders have started facing a tough situation. Sasha Choudhury is a key figure in ULFA as according to police reports, as the Foreign Secretary, he played a key role in maintaining foreign links of the outfit and his arrest will definitely affect the functioning of the outfit to a great extent. The arrest of the Finance Secretary will definitely have demoralizing effect in the minds of the rank and file of the ULFA as the unilateral cease-fire by the A and C companies of the 28 battalion, the strongest arm of the outfit, already reduced the strength of the outfit. Of course, in the past, the ULFA managed to bounce back after suffering setbacks including the operations in Bhutan, but the situation has changed now and it will be tough for the outfit to fill up the void created by the arrests of senior leaders.
The improvement of relations between India and Bangladesh is the key to deal with the militant groups including ULFA as in the past, the Government of the neighbouring country even refused to admit the presence of leaders of militant groups in the territory of that country, but now the militants are under real pressure. It is apparent that Sasha Choudhury and Chitraban Hazarika were picked up by Bangladesh security forces before they were handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF) and the possibility of more such arrests before the proposed visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister to India in December cannot be ruled out. The ULFA Commander in Chief, Paresh Baruah is also not in a position to stay in Bangladesh as he has been named as an accused in the arms haul case of 2004, while, it is reported that the ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa is also under scanner in the neighbouring country. If the move to set up a joint task force by India and Bangladesh to deal with insurgency becomes a reality, it will be impossible for any militant leader to use the territory of the neighouring country as a safe haven. ASSAM TRIBUNE
The improvement of relations between India and Bangladesh is the key to deal with the militant groups including ULFA as in the past, the Government of the neighbouring country even refused to admit the presence of leaders of militant groups in the territory of that country, but now the militants are under real pressure. It is apparent that Sasha Choudhury and Chitraban Hazarika were picked up by Bangladesh security forces before they were handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF) and the possibility of more such arrests before the proposed visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister to India in December cannot be ruled out. The ULFA Commander in Chief, Paresh Baruah is also not in a position to stay in Bangladesh as he has been named as an accused in the arms haul case of 2004, while, it is reported that the ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa is also under scanner in the neighbouring country. If the move to set up a joint task force by India and Bangladesh to deal with insurgency becomes a reality, it will be impossible for any militant leader to use the territory of the neighouring country as a safe haven. ASSAM TRIBUNE
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