Vicky Nanjappa
New Delhi, Dec 20 (IANS) The involvement of the Dhaka Cell, a unit created by the ISI in Bangladesh, has cropped up following the huge violence that broke out in the country this week.
The Dhaka Cell was created within the Pakistan High Commission specifically to oversee the grooming of terrorists and radicals in Bangladesh. The larger intention, however, is India-specific.
The Dhaka Cell is not an ordinary unit, an Intelligence Bureau official says. The Cell was created a couple of months back following the visit to Dhaka by Pakistan’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Sahir Shamshad Mirza.
Indian agencies have learnt that the unrest in Bangladesh following the staged murder of student leader, Sharif Osman Hadi, was orchestrated by the Dhaka Cell.
It has also been learnt that the Dhaka Cell, since its creation in October, has been planning an unrest on a very large scale. It was just waiting for the right timing to stage the violence, and the plan was set in motion the moment it became clear that the elections would be held in February 2026, an official added.
The Dhaka Cell is similar to the one that the ISI had created in Sri Lanka. The cell in Sri Lanka also operated from the Pakistan High Commission, and its intention was to create terror modules in South India.
It had also set the prices in motion with many terror operatives conducting reconnaissance in Chennai and other places. However, this module was busted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2014.
The cell in Bangladesh comprises officers from the Pakistan armed forces. They include a brigadier, a colonel, and four majors, apart from officers from the Pakistan Air Force and Navy.
An official said that the cell was created to undertake a long-pending plan of the Pakistan establishment.
Ever since Sheikh Hasina was ousted and the Muhammad Yunus caretaker government took over, the ISI began plotting the return of a pre-1971 Bangladesh.
Experts say that Pakistan has still not got over the humiliation that its armed forces faced during the Liberation War. The war that the Indian armed forces won led to the creation of the new country of Bangladesh.
Since then, multiple attempts have been made, but each time Islamabad has failed. With Yunus at the helm and with the Jamaat-e-Islami in complete control, the ISI felt that this was the best time to execute its plan.
The ISI found success when Sheikh Hasina was ousted. She was standing in the way of the ISI making Bangladesh its playground.
While the ISI did play a role in the student uprising last August, it furthered its activities once Sheikh Hasina fled the country.
An Intelligence Bureau official says that the Dhaka Cell is in for a long haul. Its first agenda is to create as much unrest as possible in Bangladesh. For that, it would need to ensure that the Jamaat wins the election and if it feels that it is not possible, then the next best option is to delay the elections.
The larger agenda for the ISI is, however, India. It wants to create strong terror cells in West Bengal and the Northeastern states. In order to do so, it would look to stress the Indian security system so that infiltrations would become easier.
The Dhaka Cell would be very active in the months to come as it is planning something major ahead of the West Bengal elections scheduled for March-April next year. The plan is to incite violence and cause unrest in Bangladesh at regular intervals.
At the same time, the ISI would increase activity along the border with India to push infiltrators. Indian security officials say that they are well-prepared for the situation that lies ahead. "The job ahead is hard, but we are capable of handling it," an official said.
