Bangladesh boosting counter-terrorism capabilities: NSI chief

Keeping in mind global and regional trends in terrorism, Bangladesh is continuously upgrading its counter-terrorism capabilities, National and Security Intelligence (NSI) chief Md Shamsul Haque has said.

In his inaugural address at a counter-terrorism conference at the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) in Dhaka, Haque said there was no room for complacency in the fight against terror.

"This is a continuous process. We have to upgrade our capabilities in keeping with emerging threats and trends."

"We have largely neutralised radical groups like the JMB (Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh) or HuJI (Harkat-ul-Jihad), but now they seem to have found sanctuaries across the border," Haque said in a reference to the radical hideouts now surfacing after the Oct 2 accidental explosion in a house in West Bengal's Burdwan district.

Indian intelligence says the house was used as a clandestine makeshift bomb-making facility. They have now busted a huge network of hideouts used by JMB radicals from Bangladesh in India's West Bengal and Assam states since the blasts and several suspects have been nabbed.

India's National Investigation Agency has sent teams to Dhaka to liase with Bangladesh's intelligence agencies to bust the entire network.

Md Shamsul Haque (File Photo)

"If we think we have neutralised a group and sit easy, it is big mistake. There is no room for complacency. We need to closely monitor their activities even if a few terrorists are left in the fray. Because they may well set up bases across the border, make fresh recruitment, acquire weapons and plan attacks," Haque said in his address.

The NSI director general said Bangladesh was upgrading its counter-terrorism capabilities after careful assessment of radical threats and capabilities.

Police and intelligence modernisation was one of the many elements in the process, he said.

Haque stressed on developing cyber intelligence and monitoring capabilities because radical groups were now using the Internet in a big way.

"We need to keep a close watch on what is happening in the virtual world," he said.

Haque said focusing closely on the Bangladesh diaspora was also very important.

"We need to keep a close watch on what influences are percolating back to Bangladesh from expatriates working abroad, especially in the Middle East in view of developments in that region," Haque said.