Pakistani Taliban recruiting actively in Bangladesh, but intel agencies clueless
The TTP mainly operates in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.Reports of the rise in activities of the TTP come even as Bangladesh sees home-grown jihadi groups getting a boost after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime in August 2024.In July, Bangladesh's Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) arrested two individuals, Shamin Mahfuz and Md Foysal, for alleged links to the TTP, according to Dhaka-based The Daily Star.Bangladeshi authorities are focused on containing the threat through intelligence-driven operations, said the newspaper.The ATU, established by Bangladesh Police in 2017, targets such threats using advanced intelligence tactics.The arrests follow a May report by Bangladeshi digital outlet The Dissent, which revealed that at least eight Bangladeshi nationals are currently active in Afghanistan as TTP members.One of them was reportedly killed by the Pakistan army in April, though news of his death only surfaced in Bangladeshi media in July.Surprisingly, Bangladesh's security establishment seems unaware of these developments.Asifur Rahman Chowdhury, who identifies himself as a human rights activist and a political analyst on X, wrote on Tuesday, "I am wondering about the possible number of active members of the Pakistan-based banned militant group Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Bangladesh. Yet, various officers of ranks like DIG and Police Commissioner from the Yunus-led interim government's administration have repeatedly stated that there are no militants in the country...""Bangladesh authorities arrested a man from Gaibandha for being associated with Pakistan-based terrorist organisation. A rare good job in recent time... (sic)," Soumik Saheb, who identifies as a human rights activist, took a dig at the country's security establishment and the government.Now, with two arrests and reports of Bangladeshi nationals actively joining the Pakistani Taliban, more arrests could follow.advertisementBangladesh is no stranger to extremist violence – a 2016 Islamic State-linked attack in Dhaka killed 22 civilians and triggered nationwide crackdowns on militant networks.FORMER TERROR GROUP LEADER ARRESTED AGAINOn July 14, the ATU arrested Shamin Mahfuz in Narayanganj, following his alleged involvement with the TTP. A former leader of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and founder of Jama'atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya in 2019, Shamin has a significant militant history.Previously detained in 2014 for Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) recruitment and in 2023 by the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit with explosives, he faces 10 cases under the Anti-Terrorism Act, Explosives Act, and Arms Act.In November 2005, JMB marked a grim chapter in the nation's history by carrying out its first-ever suicide attacks.Shamin was released on bail in October 2024. He allegedly collaborated with Nathan Bom of the Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF), a Bandarban-based separatist group, to establish militant training camps in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in 2020.Notably, Shamin and Nathan Bom were close friends at Dhaka University, according to The Daily Star report.
Bangladesh police escort Shamin Mahfuz (second left) and his wife (second right) after his arrest in the capital Dhaka in 2023. (Photo: AFP)
advertisementA Dhaka University graduate and former teacher at Bangladesh Open University, Shamin, known as "Sir" in militant circles, was expelled from a cadet college for ties to Islami Chhatrashibir. He is currently under a five-day remand for questioning.2 BANGLADESHI TTP Recruits TRAVELLED TO AFGHANISTANMeanwhile, on July 2, Md Foysal, 33, was arrested at his shop, Bhai Brothers Telecom, in Savar city, based on intelligence linking him to the TTP, The Daily Star also reported.Foysal allegedly travelled to Afghanistan via Pakistan in October 2024 with Ahmed Jubair, a Bangladeshi national who was killed in a Pakistan Army operation in Waziristan in April 2025.According to Foysal's reported confession, he and Jubair were recruited by Imran Haider, an aeronautical engineer who he met in Afghanistan, a central figure in mobilising Bangladeshi youths for militant ideology online and preparing for jihad.A case was filed on July 5 under the Anti-Terrorism Act naming Foysal and five others — Imran Haider, Rezaul Karim Abrar, Asif Adnan, Zakaria Masud, and Md Sanaf Hasan — for these activities.advertisementFoysal remains in jail pending further investigation, the Dhaka-based daily said.The arrests align with regional efforts to curb militancy, as seen in Malaysia's detention of 36 Bangladeshi nationals in June for alleged militant network ties, according to Malaysian outlet New Straits Times.According to Reuters, all of them had gone to Malaysia to work in factories or in sectors like construction and services. The network recruited Bangladeshi workers and used social media and messaging platforms to spread extremist ideologies, per police intelligence quoted by Reuters.The network also reportedly raised funds using international fund transfer services and e-wallets to send to the IS group in Syria and Bangladesh. Five were charged with being part of a terrorist organisation, while 15 will be deported to Bangladesh. Another 16 remained in custody pending further probe, the Reuters report said.Regardless of the crackdown and arrests of two terrorists, the presence of TTP-linked operatives in Bangladesh is a troubling development for a nation already grappling with political turmoil. It might also be of concern for India.- EndsMust Watch
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Business Standard
17 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Repeated failures have pushed Rahul Gandhi into ideological vacuum: Pradhan
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday launched a scathing attack on Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of attempting to undermine the nation's dignity after the Congress leader questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought a clarification on US President Donald Trump's recent "five jets shot down" claim. In a post on social media X, Pradhan wrote that the Congress leader just needed an "excuse" to tarnish the country's dignity and had often made remarks in favour of Pakistan and sometimes promoted the narratives of other countries. "Continuous failure has plunged Rahul Gandhi into an abyss of ideological emptiness. In opposing the BJP, he has reached the point of opposing India itself. He just needs an excuse to tarnish the country's dignity. Sometimes he speaks in favour of Pakistan, and sometimes he promotes the narratives of other countries," Pradhan posted. Referring to Rahul Gandhi as the "most unsuccessful leader in the country's history," the Union Minister said his frustration had turned into criticism of the nation. He further wrote that the best proverb that fit Rahul Gandhi was a "frustrated cat" that scratched the pole. "The frustration of being the most unsuccessful leader in India's history is vented by speaking against the nation. A proverb fits Rahul Gandhi perfectly: "A frustrated cat scratches the pole," the post further reads. Further in his post, Pradhan wrote that the Congress leader "eagerly" waited for an opportunity to seize a "baseless issue" to demean the country. "Waking up in the morning, Rahul Gandhi eagerly waits for an opportunity to seize any baseless issue to demean India," the post read. The remarks came a day after Rahul Gandhi, in a post on X on July 19, questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding Trump's claims of having defused an escalation between India and Pakistan, during which "five ships were shot down." The post read, "Modi ji, what is the truth about the 5 ships? The country has the right to know!" This comes after Donald Trump once again claimed to have halted the escalation of the India-Pakistan conflict on Saturday. Joining the attack, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram questioned the government's silence and credibility. "After President Trump's latest statement, what does the government of India have to say? Silence is no answer," he wrote in a post on X. . (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Wire
an hour ago
- The Wire
Fauja Singh: The ‘Turbaned Tornado' Who Stayed Committed to His Passion For Running Even at 114
Culture Fauja Singh's cremation will take place on Sunday, July 20, at his native village Beas in Jalandhar district, Punjab. Jalandhar: Fauja Singh, the 114-year-old turbaned Sikh, a global name that would remain etched in the history as the oldest marathon runner in the world, had a desire to breathe his last in his native village Beas Pind in Jalandhar district, a reason why he had started living there for the last five years post pandemic. ' Meri maut Punjab ch howe (I want to breathe my last in Punjab', he had been telling his family members who settled in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. Fauja Singh died in a hit and run case on the Jalandhar-Pathankot highway on Monday, July 14, after he was hit by a Toyota Fortuner driven by Canada-based NRI Amritpal Singh Dhillon. The cremation will take place on Sunday, July 20, at his native village. The plush house of Fauja Singh in the middle of fields at Beas Pind, Jalandhar. Photo: Kusum Arora While the Jalandhar Rural Police arrested the accused the very next day, Fauja Singh's family was heartbroken at the apathetic behavior of the accused. 'We are thankful to the police for acting swiftly in our case. The police tracked the accused within a day just because my father was a global figure. However, the fact is that had they been acting tough against the traffic violators, many accidents would haeve never taken place. The accused fled the spot without caring to save my father,' said Harbinder Singh, the son of Fauja Singh. Famously known as 'Turbaned Tornado' for completing nine full marathons and breaking his own records every time, Fauja Singh set benchmarks in life with commitment to values like humility, simple food, farming and the ability to overcome setbacks. Born in Beas village on April 1, 1911, Fauja Singh started running at the age of 89 in international marathon events. His first race was the London marathon in 2000. However, as a child he started walking at the age of five. From the year 2000 to 2012, he ran in London, Toronto and New York marathons. He was also the torch bearer of the 2012 London Olympics. Fauja Singh announced his retirement during the Hong Kong marathon in February 2013. He was awarded the British Empire Medal by Queen Elizabeth II in the year 2015 and Ellis Island Medal of Honour, by the National Ethnic Coalition, a US group in 2003. Family members of late marathoner Fauja Singh show a photograph of the latter meeting with late Queen Elizabeth II, at his native home, in Jalandhar, Punjab. Photo: PTI Coming from a family of farmers, Fauja Singh took to farming early in his life with his parents and picked life lessons. Behind his passion for running was the story of the loss of one of his sons, Kuldip Singh, who died after the dhaba roof they were constructing suddenly fell on him. Seeing him devastated after the sudden demise of his son and that of his wife Gian Kaur later, Fauja Singh's family decided to take him to the UK in 1993. It was in the UK that Fauja Singh started going for walks all alone, sometimes in a formal suit, an unusual sight, when a chance meeting with his coach Harmandar Singh brought a 180-degree shift in his life. After that, there was no looking back and Fauja Singh's name became synonymous with marathons. Talking to The Wire, Paramjit Singh, the US-returned nephew of Fauja Singh shared how post Covid-19, he had started staying in his village. He would say jokingly, 'I do not want to come back in a coffin (from abroad).' 'Fauja Singh went to Canada in March 2024 but came back within a fortnight telling everybody that he wants to go back to his village. At home, his routine included walking around the fields, running and meeting people in the village. Even at the ripe age of 114, he used to walk and run for eight to 10 hours every day, a feat which is next to impossible for any elderly person', he said. Paramjit Singh said that Fauja Singh was a brand ambassador of not just marathons but also simplicity. His life will serve as an inspiration for generations to come, he said. 'Despite being a UK citizen, he remained attached to his roots and ate simple vegetarian Punjabi food: in the morning he had alsi di pinni, which is flax seed ladoo made in desi ghee with dry fruits and jaggery and tea, then one chapati, dal, sabzi three times a day. He also had milch animals at his home, giving him the luxury of homemade curd, lassi and desi ghee', he added. Family and friends gather for condolence meeting at the courtyard of Fauja Singh's house in Beas Pind, Jalandhar. Photo: Kusum Arora With a sense of pride, Paramjit Singh mentioned that Fauja Singh was the first turban-wearing Sikh to win marathons in the world. 'There are many firsts attached to his name but he always remained grounded. He was also the oldest marathon runner to have ever appeared in an Adidas ad 'Impossible is nothing' in the year 2004 along with David Beckam and Mohamad Ali', he said, adding that he always attributed his success to rabb, the almighty. Highlighting his philanthropic side in an obituary in The Indian Express, former state information commissioner of Punjab, Khushwant Singh, who has also authored his biography titled Turbaned Tornado: The Oldest Marathon Runner Fauja Singh, shared how Fauja Singh donated the endorsement fee from Adidas-sponsored Marathon to a UK-based charity called Bliss. During the 2016 Mumbai Marathon, he sent the fee amount from the Nestle to Pingalwara Trust in Amritsar, a home for the orphans and the destitute, Khushwant Singh wrote. Not just the endorsement fees, he would also donate cash showered on him in various gurdwaras as a mark of honour in the cash box. Balbir Singh, a family friend of Fauja Singh, who was the first to rush him to the hospital after the accident, told The Wire that when People's Walk against Drugs was held in Jalandhar in December 2024, he ran and walked for 20 kilometres at the age of 113. 'We kept pleading him to stop and sit in the car but he was comfortable, astounding everybody with his stamina', he added. Harbinder Singh said that during the farmers' protest, as part of Doaba Kisan Sangharsh Committee, a farmer union, he stayed at Singhu border while Fauja Singh and other villagers donated a solar panel, when the government had snapped power supply to the farmers. 'Apart from ration and funds, we took a solar panel in a tractor to Singhu border ensuring power supply to the farmers', he shared. Fauja Singh's plush house in the middle of fields in Beas village was also a testimony to his love for farming and life in the lap of nature. His house adorned two Pilkan trees, under which he used to spend his summer days and a mango tree, where his mornings began by picking the best mangoes. Fauja Singh's shoes bearing his name, which he used to wear daily for walking and running in the village. Photo: Kusum Arora His granddaughter Japneet Kaur (16) shared how Fauja Singh was fond of mangoes, so much so that he used to hide them in the house for natural ripening but then forget quite often. 'We found a mango kept in his almirah in his clothes two days after his death. Every morning, he used to pick the best mangoes and hide them in the house for ripening,' she said. Japneet also shared that despite being illiterate, Fauja Singh could do his signature in Urdu language. 'He learned to sign in Urdu, a rare talent these days. For the past some time, I was teaching him English alphabets and he had learned it till 'H'. I also taught him how to pronounce the alphabets and he would keep repeating A, B, C, D whenever he saw me….,' she said with a smile on her lips and grief in her voice. Showing his marathon shoes bearing his name, which he used to wear daily, Japneet said, 'Quite often he would look at his shoes and point towards his name, Fauja Singh, with a smile. He loved walking and running and he left the world doing what he loved the most – a walk around the village.' The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
News18
an hour ago
- News18
Behind The Biopic Boom: The Reel Truth Of Real Stories
From political giants and war heroes to scam artists and godmen, everyone's life now seems destined for the big screen. What changed? The answer is part business, part belief, and part battlefield. The Business of 'Real' For filmmakers and studios, the biopic offers something most original scripts can't: built-in recognition. You don't have to explain who M.S. Dhoni is. Or Manjhi, the man who carved a road through a mountain. Their names, already soaked in emotion or awe, do half the marketing. When a story is tied to a real figure especially one adored, martyred, or controversial, audience curiosity is immediate, and word-of-mouth does the rest. This makes biopics surprisingly risk-proof. 'It's a win-win," says a Mumbai-based producer who has worked on two such films. 'You get organic buzz, political relevance, and media coverage without spending crores on promotional gimmicks." Even average films, as long as they ride a 'real story' wave often find decent returns, especially when timed around elections, anniversaries, or trending issues. Streaming platforms, too, are feeding the fire. Docu-dramas and limited series like Scoop, Rocket Boys, and Trial By Fire tap into the same thirst: audiences crave context for headlines they've only half-understood, and real-life pain offers deeper emotional hooks than any fictional plot twist can. A Nation, Projected In a country as diverse and contested as India, every story told onscreen isn't just entertainment, it's a statement. And in the age of hyper-visibility and political polarization, the biopic has become a new kind of propaganda, draped in cinematic respectability. Consider the sudden surge of films centred around nationalist figures, soldiers, and spiritual leaders. They arrive like clockwork in the run-up to elections. The Narendra Modi biopic, for instance, was released just before the 2019 general elections. The Accidental Prime Minister, Thackeray, Yatra each one timed to sway, nudge, remind. That's not coincidence. That's curation. A biopic tells you whom to remember and more crucially, how. It edits history, omits controversy, polishes legacy. A rebel becomes a visionary. A complicated figure is flattened into a slogan. And if you're paying close attention, you'll notice who keeps getting left out. The Politics of Absence For every Shershaah or 83, there are a dozen lives we never see onscreen. These absences aren't accidental, they reflect deeper hierarchies of power and narrative permission. Making a biopic often requires some level of access, approval, or cooperation from the family or state. And no surprise, those who challenge dominant power structures rarely get invited to tell their version of events. Even when stories from the margins are made, they often arrive with caveats softened, symbolic, or tucked into streaming platforms without theatrical fanfare. So while the genre looks inclusive, it's often playing safe. Or worse, playing favorites. The Messy Truth Behind the 'True Story" And then, of course, there's the biggest illusion of all that what we're watching is the truth. Most biopics are anything but. To dramatize a life is, by definition, to edit it. Timelines are restructured. Facts are rearranged. Dull years are deleted. Events are reimagined with flair and fog. Sometimes, that's artistic license. But often, it's strategic storytelling. Biopics have become a delicate dance of PR, public memory, and performance. Legal teams are on alert. Families demand scripts be shown in advance. In powerful circles, a favourable film can be a career booster or a legacy reset. And when lawsuits do arise, the excuse is ready: 'This is fiction, inspired by real events." This genre now thrives in that murky space, not quite documentary, not quite imagination. The result? Audiences walk away believing they know what happened. But what they often get is a narrative scrubbed of its grime, controversies reframed, and inconvenient truths either diluted or deleted. advetisement It is Omnipresent The biopic boom isn't confined to Bollywood alone, it's a pan-India phenomenon sweeping across languages and regional cinemas with equal intensity. In Tamil, Thalaivii told the dramatic arc of Jayalalithaa's life, navigating her journey from actress to formidable politician, though critics pointed out its sanitised portrayal of realpolitik. Malayalam cinema delivered Celluloid, a poignant tribute to J.C. Daniel, the father of Malayalam cinema, while also highlighting caste-based discrimination, a rare case where the form dared to be critical. ' Ennu Ninte Moideen' also from Malayalam, stood out for its tender yet tragic retelling of the real-life love story between Moideen and Kanchanamala, set in 1960s Kerala. While technically more of a romantic drama than a traditional biopic, it drew heavily from letters, diaries, and real-world accounts, earning both critical and box office success. Thus, proving that real-life romance, too, has cinematic muscle. In Telugu, 'Mahanati ' received widespread acclaim for its lush, tragic portrayal of yesteryear star Savitri, balancing reverence with vulnerability and capturing the harsh realities of a woman's stardom in a patriarchal industry. advetisement Marathi cinema has also dabbled richly in the genre, from 'Lokmanya: Ek Yugpurush' on freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak to 'Anandi Gopal ', based on India's first female doctor, both films used history to provoke reflection on contemporary values. Even Kannada cinema's 'Kantara' while not a biopic borrowed heavily from real rituals and folklore, blurring lines between lived experience and cultural re-enactment. These regional biopics carry their own flavours and stakes, often tied to linguistic pride, local legends, and forgotten icons proving that the hunger for 'real" stories is neither uniform nor surface-level. But across languages, the same questions persist: Who gets to be remembered? And who gets rewritten? Where Do We Go From Here? And yet, despite the manipulation and fatigue, we keep watching. Because somewhere deep down, we still want to believe. That stories matter. That memory matters. That cinema, at its best, can still reflect more than just entertainment.
