Some would like to take Bangladesh that way, i.e. the way Afghanistan went under the Talebans; some would like to make it appear that Bangladesh has already moved that way; but most of the people of the country, while perhaps dreading that that is where we are heading for, would like to see that such a possibility does not eventuate. However, our worst fears may come to pass if we do not rise above partisan politics and work to address the scourge in unison. And it is the government that must recognise the factors that can be exploited to prevent the dreaded prospect becoming a reality.

There has been spate of writings recently, both at home and abroad, expressing apprehensions that Bangladesh was well nigh that point where the Muslim radicals were about to overwhelm the country and its political system. Whether or not we replicate in the ultimate another Afghanistan by being Talebanised, there is surely a well-organised group in our midst that wants to take the country in that direction. The latest suicide bombings in Ghazipur and Chittagong leaves no doubt that we are past the point of ifs and buts to a stage where a frightening prospect of combating an ideologically motivated group, prepared to kill themselves for the sake of establishing what they would like to think of as Islam in Bangladesh. More worrisome is the question as to whether we are equipped, politically, technically, and otherwise, to effectively combat this evil?

We should not be surprised at the graduated scale of attacks that these perfidious monsters are employing in killing innocent people. Their target is the judiciary and its members. They had given enough indications that they would resort to the most violent form of terrorism, something that was brought out through these columns in the past. And listening to some rather childlike arguments in reference to the letters threatening action against the judiciary, claiming them to be a hoax, it appears that some are yet to comprehend the seriousness of the matter. There are those that would still like to think that these are but acts designed to destabilise the country to reap benefits at the expense of one political party or the other with the help of external sponsorship.

While one cannot take issue with the question of external support, because trans-boundary support, of money and ideas, is an essential ingredient on which these groups thrive, the argument that anyone would go to the extent of killing himself, only for the purpose of "destabilizing" a country, remains far from convincing. Killing oneself to achieve one's political objective requires deep motivation that no amount of money or persuasion can induce. To sacrifice one's life merely to break up a coalition or make one of the partners appear to be a political liability, as one leader of the ruling alliance has averred, is too high a price for too insignificant an objective. These extremists have a definite political agenda. And they have not sprouted in a day or a year. The worrisome aspect is we have such people as these living amongst us that have been allowed to germinate when there were hardly any compelling circumstances for this to happen.

The similarity between the Bangladesh and Afghanistan situation is that there is a well-entrenched deeply motivated group in the country with similar ideological orientation. And that is where the similarity ends. The fluid situation that prevailed in Afghanistan, with tribalism taking precedence over nationalism, where liberal thoughts were suppressed by means of brute force, whose preponderance was exhibited through the activities of the Talebans, that was raised and supported by a third country, is not to be found in Bangladesh.

We should also take solace in the fact that the deeply religious but moderate Bengali Muslims would not allow this to happen. It is their attitude to religion that makes them conform to the liberal values that Islam preaches that will militate against obscurantism and the distorted ideology of the extremists prevailing in the country. Talebans version of Islam is not the real Islam; the ideology of Taleban or Al-Qaeda is completely at variance with Islam, from which they deviated in order to attain their narrow goals.

And it is the people that the government must take along to counter the religious extremists. One would like to think that the BNP remains at the core secular, in spite of teaming up with an Islamist party with the expressed goal of establishing "Islamic Hukumat" in the country, and would resist radical moves by the Islamists outside the fold, but as per common perception, in league with the Islamic parties in the coalition.

The only way to counter these so-called Jihadists is to fight them politically. One of the reasons that these extremists have been able to sprout in our soil, apart from the socio-economic factor, is the rabid discord between the two major political parties. The extremists have made full use of the time and the political space provided by the conditions created as a result of this clash. And this bickering is regrettably noticeable even after the recent suicide attacks in Chittagong and Ghazipur.

While there is no alternative but a joint position on this issue, cutting across party lines, and that is what the people want to see, there is also the need to assess whether we on our own can effectively combat this menace, who may well have links beyond our borders. There are countries that would like to help Bangladesh to take in hand short-term measures. The urgent need is to nab the terrorists and their mastermind, so that they can be brought to justice. For this we may seek international assistance for technical expertise from whatever source that is available.

Time for theorising is over. Time for blame game is over. Time for petty partisan politics is over. The nation is at stake. It is time to formulate rational short and long-term strategies to combat this scourge. There are some hard decisions that the government needs to take soon that may require it to de-link from many of its established views.

Otherwise, the worst fears may well come true.

The author is Editor, Defence and Strategic Affairs, The Daily Star.