Home-made prescriptions for home-grown terror

The perpetrators of the Gulshan attack have been found to be of Bangladeshi origin and therefore, the gruesome incident has been termed as the handiwork of home-grown terrorists. Investigation into the terror attack has commenced and facts testifying to the veracity of initial assumptions are yet to come by. Leaving aside the probable connection of international terror networks or the unearthing of the identity of the mentors of the slain terrorists, it might be time to focus on home-baked prescriptions to counter the home-grown terror.

The savagery of the Bangladeshi young terrorists must serve as a wake-up call because of the modus-operandi, as it bears similarity with those of the dreaded international terror. The suspected contact and communication with the handler or the mentor located elsewhere during the course of terrorist operations need to be taken note of. 

Coming specifically to the home-made measures to combat the extremist menace, the first priority should focus on the paucity of intelligence. Some of the slain terrorists were missing or remained untraced for quite a long time and some cases of unexplained absence were known to the police. It would thus appear that the matter was not looked into as vigorously as it should have been and surely not followed-up by the concerned agencies. Equally alarming is the revelation that dozens of young men have gone missing under mysterious circumstances during the preceding months. The authorities were not aware of such developments as some parents/guardians have avoided contact with them, perhaps due to the fear of hassles that occur during such reporting.

The missing-persons cell or squad that we may have needs to follow up each of these suspicious disappearances. A dedicated unit needs to work on the subject. If pursued with due diligence and supported by actionable intelligence, we should be able to obtain valuable clues about the clandestine operations. A complete and updated inventory of all accused and suspects interrogated and forwarded to court, including their current status, should be available. This has to be a continuous assignment.

We need to understand the so-called indoctrination or brain-washing process of impressionable young minds towards a violent path. Supra-national causes that have highlighted the plight of co-religionists in distant lands may have shaken the young men and encouraged them to seek 'vengeance'. One has to note that the initial recruits were directed to take on 'soft targets'. Such a possibility cannot be ruled out, as individuals ranging from priests belonging to minority communities, bloggers, writers, publishers, and low profile foreign nationals etc. have been targeted by deploying not so skilled assailants. The hardcore extremists have been tasked at a later stage, as evidenced by the modus-operandi and target population of the Gulshan restaurant attack.

By now much is known about the strategy, tactics, and objectives of deadly terrorist organisations like LET (Lashker-e-Tayyeba) headquartered in Pakistan. It needs to be reminded that a prominent terrorist group that emerged from extremist schools of thought was Harkat-ul Jihad al Islami-Bangladesh (HUJI- B). It once boasted a membership of fifteen thousand. It is also learnt that more than 3,500 HUJI-B activists took part in the Afghan Jihad where they had trained alongside LET recruits. The question is how effectively such elements have been watched and kept under surveillance in Bangladesh. The HUJI-B members received grenades from LET and used them to carry out a series of attacks within Bangladesh in 2004 and 2005. Allegedly, the attacks were carried out by a combined HUJI-LET-Hizb-ul Mujahideen team. These facts came to light during the investigation of the killing of former finance minister Mr. Shah A M S Kibria in January 2005.

Under the circumstances, our concern should be on efforts geared towards explaining the reasons behind the misery of Muslims all over the world, along with framing workable policies to ensure good governance nationally. That violence need not be the course of actions has to be ensured by manifest deeds and programmes, incorporating the wishes and desires of the majority. The real message of Islam has to be culturally internalised.

International cooperation has to be sought discreetly from countries like the USA, UK, France, and Turkey, wherein there is a pool of information about the strategy and tactics of ISIS and Al-Qaeda. Closer to home, in Indonesia, there are admirable educational and rehabilitative programmes that have proved successful in weaning away people from the violent path. We surely can draw on the experience of others and prepare our de-radicalisation strategy. If we know the complaints well enough, we can prepare adequate answers thereto. We need to be ready for a long discourse.

The writer is a columnist of The Daily Star.