What role did Pakistani and Chinese intelligence agencies play in the fall of Hasina's government?
Author: “Sharq” – “Iranian Diplomacy”
Indian intelligence agencies believe the Pakistan Army's intelligence organization, known as ISI, and communist China played a role in spreading the protests and the fall of Hasina's government. A peaceful protest by students against unemployment and the quota system for government jobs in Bangladesh, which began last month, quickly escalated into nationwide protests. So demands to eliminate discrimination in government jobs gave way to the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina's government.
The Times of India reported, citing Indian intelligence agencies and officials, that Pakistan's intelligence agency supported the student branch of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh in destabilizing and overthrowing the government of Sheikh Hasina. According to these media outlets, the student branch of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, known as Chhatra Shibir, has received "significant financial support to destabilize Hasina's government" from Pakistan's ISI since early this year.
Indian intelligence officials suspect that funding to destabilize Hasina's government was channelled through Chinese entities operating in Pakistan. According to Apk Times, former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina tried to establish friendly relations with Beijing in addition to close relations with New Delhi, but Bangladesh's close relations with India and the West displeased Communist China.
According to official statistics, Bangladesh's imports from China are 10 times the country's exports, and China has been Bangladesh's largest trading partner in recent years. The activities of extremist groups in India and neighbouring countries have been one of the concerns of Narendra Modi government officials.
In addition, Indian intelligence agencies have been tracking the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh as one of the “extremist groups” for many years. The Times of India, quoting an Indian intelligence officer, reported that the ultimate goal of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh group is to form a government similar to that of the Taliban, while the Pakistan Army Intelligence Bureau has assured the group that this will help the Jamaat-e-Islami create a government similar to that of the Taliban. Taliban in Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, the Diplomat warned that if the US and India want to prevent communist China's growing influence in the region, they should learn from the Bangladesh revolution and work to ensure the stability of South Asia's strong democratic institutions.
Criticizing the Indian government's policies in Bangladesh, the publication added that politicians and analysts in New Delhi had long believed that Sheikh Hasina's iron fist policies served India's interests, but now, with the revolution in Bangladesh, it has become clear that they were wrong.
According to this article, authoritarian and iron-fist governments could not last long, and regional allies faced the risk of losing regional interests and trust over time due to the inappropriate performance of these governments.
The Sheikh Hasina government has been one of the strategic allies of the Narendra Modi government, which has collaborated in developing infrastructure projects, resolving border disputes between the two countries and fighting terrorist groups.
Sheikh Hasina resigned on Monday and fled to India. Thus ending the 15-year life of his government. The violence reportedly left around 250 people dead and thousands injured.
General Wakeruzzaman, the chief of the Bangladesh Army, announced in a televised address that Bangladesh was undergoing a revolution and an interim government would be formed. At the same time, images of the flags of the Taliban, Bangladesh and Palestine were published among the revolutionaries.
Some Indian users have also expressed concern over the threat to the safety of Hindu families in Bangladesh by some extremist protesters posting photos and videos of burning houses.
A day after the overthrow of the Bangladesh government, groups of student protesters said they supported Mohammad Yunus, an economist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, to become president of Bangladesh's interim government. 84-year-old Mohammad Yunus is one of the prominent opponents of Sheikh Hasina. Mohammed Yunus is said to be ready to temporarily rule the power.