
Not Just Pakistan-Backed Terror: Is Trouble Afoot For India's Northeast With Bangladesh's 'Arakan Plot'?
According to highly placed sources, representatives of the Arakan Army and CNF were recently in Dhaka and held secret meetings with senior US diplomatic and military officials
In the aftermath of the horrific terror attack at Kashmir's Pahalgam that killed 26 people, Sky News presenter Yalda Hakim grilled Pakistan's defence minister Khawaja Asif for his rogue nation's role in backing terror. But what he said next shocked many and was known to a limited circle: 'We have been doing this dirty work for the United States for about 3 decades… If we had not joined the war against the Soviet Union and later on the war after 9/11, Pakistan's track record was unimpeachable."
But at a time when India is focused on Pakistan and the two nations are on the edge, decades after Islamabad allegedly did the 'dirty work" for the US against the USSR and thousands of kilometres away from Pahalgam, is a new cocktail of problems brewing for India, involving Rohingyas, Chins, and Arakan? Like déjà vu, sources say a US-backed plan is seemingly being hatched, with Pakistan being replaced by Bangladesh, and Pakistani terror outfits that Khawaja Asif referred to being replaced by militant groups of Myanmar, mostly espousing land for their respective ethnicities.
Top sources have told News18 that the Bangladesh military is already in the process of establishing extensive military infrastructure in the Cox's Bazar and Teknaf areas. A large logistical base is being constructed on the Teknaf border to supply food, medicine, and other 'non-lethal" aid to insurgent groups like the Arakan Army (AA) and the Chin National Front (CNF), News18 has learnt.
Meanwhile, the expansion of the Cox's Bazar airport is almost nearing completion. Sources have told News18 that Bangladesh's Muhammad Yunus-led government will convert the facility into a drone base, which may deploy advanced Turkish-made drones with technical support from the United States. This drone hub, sources add, is expected to play a critical role in surveillance and intelligence gathering over the Rakhine State — the disputed territory of Myanmar, from where Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh and India.
India, which is already grappling with its own Rohingya problem, may have another reason to worry, say sources. The union government estimated around 40,000 Rohingya living in India as of 2017, mostly in slums and detention camps across places like Jammu, Hyderabad, Nuh, and Delhi. The same year, the government told the Supreme Court that Rohingyas posed a security risk, citing intelligence reports alleging links between some Rohingya leaders and Pakistan-based militant groups. In 2021, the union home ministry reiterated this stance in the Lok Sabha, stating that illegal Rohingya immigrants were a national security threat, with some engaging in illegal activities.
Cut to 2025, the Centre, which has enough on its plate after the Pakistan-backed Pahalgam terror attack, may have reasons to be worried about Rohingyas, along with other militant ethnic tribes from Myanmar. According to highly placed sources, representatives of the Arakan Army and CNF were recently in Dhaka and held secret meetings with senior US diplomatic and military officials there. Among those involved are Chargé d'Affaires Susan Stevenson, stationed in Naypyidaw, along with Nicole Chulick (Deputy Assistant Secretary, South Central Asia) and Andrew Herrup (Deputy Assistant Secretary, East Asia Pacific). Myanmar-based Susan previously served as principal deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, which makes her a perfect fit for the job.
The main goal of these discussions is to devise an effective militia-based warfare strategy against Myanmar's military junta, with which India shares good relations. Bangladesh will play the role of a crucial logistical and intelligence hub, it has been decided.
Bangladeshi journalist Sahidul Hasan Khokon says the West's efforts were an open secret even during Sheikh Hasina's time, but little progress was made. 'Sheikh Hasina had said this in the media when she was in power. She expressed her fear that such a conspiracy was being hatched against Bangladesh and India. The West was involved in the process of forming a new state by breaking up Myanmar. In one of her statements, she alluded to the US and said that a white-skinned person had offered her the establishment of a new state in that region, including St Martin's Island in Bangladesh. Had she agreed to the proposal, she would be able to retain power for the rest of her life. After the fall of Sheikh Hasina, we can now see it in the open," he tells News18.
Recently, ARSA (Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army — a terror outfit) leader Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi and his associates were arrested in Narayanganj, near Dhaka. But sources in Dhaka told News18 the arrest was to coerce ARSA — a key faction—to set aside ideological divides and unite like all other militant factions of Myanmar under one umbrella to fight the junta government. While Rakhine State is the immediate goal, the ultimate goal is an 'Arakan Federation", from the militants' point of view. And here lies the problem. This envisioned federation considers parts of border regions such as Teknaf and Bandarban in Bangladesh and Manipur and Mizoram in India as its own, along with Myanmar's Rakhine state.
'The Arakan Army has already occupied the Bangladesh border. Not just that, they are moving around across Bangladesh. This has been admitted by the Bangladesh government. What we are hearing now is that this new state is being planned to include two districts of Bangladesh, especially Bandarban and Cox's Bazar, and a part of Mizoram and Manipur in India. Naturally, this issue is a matter of concern for both Bangladesh and India," adds Sahidul.
The formation of such a state would not only threaten Bangladesh's territorial integrity but, sources say, could also pose a serious security risk to India's northeastern region, particularly at a time when Manipur has been reeling under ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities for the last two years, resulting in 258 deaths and 60,000 displacements. Since the strife-torn state shares its international border with Myanmar, much of its violence was credited to the influx of refugees from there after the outbreak of civil war in Myanmar's Chin State and Sagaing Region.
With a hot LoC and sensitive Northeast, India may not just have a Pakistan problem, say sources, but a Rohingya-Arakan-Chin issue to contend with as well.
First Published:
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


India Today
37 minutes ago
- India Today
Iran warns it will target US bases if conflict erupts over nuke talks
If nuclear negotiations fail and conflict arises with the United States, Iran will strike American bases in the region, Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said on Wednesday, days ahead of a planned sixth round of Iran-US nuclear talks."Some officials on the other side threaten conflict if negotiations don't come to fruition. If a conflict is imposed on us ... all US bases are within our reach and we will boldly target them in host countries," Nasirzadeh said during a weekly press President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened Iran with bombing if it does not reach a new nuclear deal. The next round of talks is due this week, with Trump saying negotiations would be held on Thursday while Tehran says they will take place on Sunday in is expected to hand a counter-proposal to a previous US offer for a nuclear deal it rejected, with Trump saying on Tuesday that Iran was becoming "much more aggressive" in nuclear and Washington have clashed on the issue on uranium enrichment on Iranian soil, which Western powers say is a potential pathway to the development of nuclear weapons. Iran holds that its nuclear programme is purely for civilian purposes."As we resume talks on Sunday, it is clear that an agreement that can ensure the continued peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program is within reach — and could be achieved rapidly," Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a post on X on sticking point in the talks has been Iran's missile programme. Ballistic missiles form an important part of Iran's said that Tehran recently tested a missile with a two-ton warhead and does not accept Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had said in February that Iran should further develop its military, including its missiles.


India Today
2 hours ago
- India Today
Watch: Houthi missile nearly strikes civilian jet, intercepted mid-air over Israel
A tragedy was narrowly avoided on Tuesday evening after a ballistic missile launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels nearly struck a civilian aircraft flying over Israel. According to Israel's military war room, the missile was successfully intercepted in midair by Israeli defence systems."A Houthi ballistic missile launched at Israeli civilians nearly hit a civilian plane. If not for the competence of Israeli air defences, there could have been a mass casualty event caused by Iranian-backed terrorists," the Israeli warroom stated in a post on X, sharing a video of the incident. The footage shows the plane passing by moments before the missile was intercepted.#WATCH: Earlier today, a Houthi ballistic missile launched at Israeli civilians nearly hit a civilian plane. If not for the competence of Israeli air defenses, there could have been a mass casualty event caused by Iranian-backed terrorists. Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) June 11, 2025advertisement"The missile fired at Israel on Tuesday broke up into multiple parts after being hit by an interceptor, leading the Israeli Air Force to launch additional interceptors to shoot down the fragments," a military official said as quoted by The Times of Israel. According to reports, at least seven interceptors were used during the mission. The Iran-backed Houthis took responsibility for the attack. They claimed that to have launched two ballistic missiles at Ben Gurion Airport in central the past, partially intercepted Houthi missiles have led to casualties when remaining warhead fragments landed in populated RESPONDS WITH FIRST NAVAL STRIKE ON YEMENThe attack set off air raid sirens throughout central Israel, the Jerusalem area, southern West Bank, and parts of southern Israel. Residents in impacted areas received a long-range missile warning via mobile alerts two minutes prior to the sirens. Five minutes before the sirens sounded, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) also issued a notice to the January 2025, Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire, but the Houthis continued to fire. They had fired more than 40 ballistic missiles, dozens of drones and cruise missiles. One of those missiles killed a civilian and injured multiple others in Tel Aviv in July, which prompted Israel to launch its first strike in Houthis have fired at least 11 drones and 48 ballistic missiles at Israel since the IDF's assault against Hamas in the Gaza Strip resumed on March Watch


Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
'keeping Americans safe, both at home & abroad': Why US is pulling staff from the Middle East as nuclear talks with Iran stall
The United States is reducing its diplomatic and military footprint in parts of the Middle East amid rising tensions with Iran, as nuclear negotiations appear to stall and regional instability looms. The State Department on Wednesday ordered the departure of all nonessential staff from the US Embassy in Baghdad, citing a commitment 'to keeping Americans safe, both at home and abroad.' The embassy had already been operating with limited staff. Additionally, the State Department is authorising the optional departure of nonessential personnel and family members from diplomatic posts in Bahrain and Kuwait. The US military is also following suit, with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth approving the voluntary departure of military dependents from multiple locations across the region. US Central Command said it is 'monitoring the developing tension.' White House spokesperson Anna Kelly noted that the decisions came after a regular review of American personnel abroad. 'This decision was made as a result of a recent review,' she said. The move comes as efforts to revive the stalled US-Iran nuclear negotiations face fresh setbacks. Talks aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanction relief have reportedly reached a deadlock, with the next round—originally planned for this weekend in Oman—now in doubt. Two US officials, speaking anonymously, said it was increasingly unlikely the talks would go ahead. President Donald Trump offered a pessimistic assessment in a recent interview, saying he is 'getting more and more less confident about' reaching a deal. 'They seem to be delaying, and I think that's a shame,' he told the New York Post podcast Pod Force One. Iran, meanwhile, rejected threats of force. 'Iran is not seeking a nuclear weapon, and US militarism only fuels instability,' its mission to the UN wrote online. Defence Minister Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh added that if war were imposed, 'the opponent's casualties will certainly be more than ours,' warning the US that its regional bases 'are within our reach.' Separately, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors is considering a censure resolution against Iran, which could trigger the reimposition of UN sanctions under the still-active 2015 nuclear deal. The US withdrew from that deal during Trump's first term. Amid the growing risk of conflict, the UK's Maritime Trade Operations Centre warned ships to exercise caution in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman—areas where Iran has previously seized or attacked vessels.