Pro-Islamist Dr. Muhammad Yunus took power on August 8 last year with the support of the army after removing the Awami League government on August 5. Since then, he has been implementing a planned blueprint to weaken the army by deliberately creating political unrest and letting the security situation collapse.
Yunus is aided by National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman, Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam, Lieutenant General SM Kamrul Hasan and some others in this mission, plotted by the Pakistan Army’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Sources say Yunus formed two brigades after coming to power. The first brigade has released militants from prison, and the second brigade aims to weaken the army. As part of this plan, propaganda against the army is being spread through YouTubers. Pinak Bhattaharya, Kanak Sarwar, and Elias Hossain are especially involved in this campaign. In addition, groups supported by militant groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir are trying to create instability in the army.
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Another serious allegation is that they are being trained to use weapons in the name of the Rohingya return. A plan is being worked out behind this training by Adviser Khalilur Rahman, Press Secretary Shafiq, and Brigadier General (Retd) Abdullahil Amaan Azmi.
According to analysts, Yunus wants to stay in power for a long time by strengthening militant groups, and for this, he is trying to weaken the army to allow the world’s most powerful militant groups to roam freely in Bangladesh.
If the army can be weakened, the law and order in the country will further worsen. In addition, international militant elements will be more active in the country.
Yunus’ supporters are already giving various kinds of provocations to weaken the army.
Last March, Yunus’ own National Citizen Party (NCP) Central Chief Organiser (Southern Region), Hasnat Abdullah, said: “Your work is in the cantonment, you stay in the cantonment. We respect you. The dirty interference in national politics for the last 16 years will not be allowed to happen again in the new Bangladesh.”
NCP Convener Nasiruddin Patwary said: “Our army brothers, we don’t just have to have weapons in our hands. We also have to have some slack in our heads.”
Barrister Asaduzzaman Fuad, General Secretary of the Amar Bangladesh (AB) Party, has also warned of blowing up the cantonment.
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Inqilab Moncho spokesperson Shariful Osman Bin Hadi has also warned of removing the bricks of the cantonments.
Armed training in the name of Rohingya return
Sources say that the Rohingya camps have become a safe haven for the arms trade for a section of the terrorist Rohingyas. Terrorists are being trained there. Sources from the local administration and law enforcement agencies confirmed the involvement of the Rohingyas one after another.
Arms smuggling, buying and selling, robbery, kidnapping – many crimes are being committed in the mountain caves and mobile hideouts next to these camps. The source of the huge amount of weapons recovered has been transported to the camps. The accused are once again plunging into the dark world after being released on bail.
The upcoming national elections. The level of arms smuggling has increased dramatically at this time. Analysts fear that these weapons may be used in electoral violence. Who will benefit from political instability? Who will operate these weapons? The questions are getting darker and darker.
A terrifying arsenal of weapons is being created by the combination of domestic and foreign weapons. Heavy weapons are coming from Myanmar, and domestically made ones are coming from Maheshkhali. The meeting point of these two streams is the hilly area of Cox’s Bazar.
Teknaf and Ukhiya are not just geographical names; they are now synonymous with arms smuggling.
According to the description of the Coast Guard’s media officer, Lieutenant Commander Harun-ur-Rashid, it is easy to imagine how active and how well-armed the smugglers are. To deal with them, the joint forces have to go into the field, risking their lives.
Additional Superintendent of Police Jasim Uddin Chowdhury directly said that the Rohingya have increased in arms-related crimes. Additional DIG Md. Kausar Sikder, commander of the 16-Armed Police Battalion, also spoke in the same tone about the arms trade and misdeeds of the terrorist Rohingyas. The case is going on in the court, but the accused are roaming freely after getting bail. But is anything changing outside the four walls of the court? Is the mountain of arms decreasing, or is it increasing?
The shadow of these weapons is not only terrorising the people of Cox’s Bazar or the border; it is spreading throughout the country. Every rifle, every grenade, every round of bullets smuggled – these are like landmines buried in the bed of peace. No one knows when, where, or how they will explode.
Is this alarm reaching the ears of the leaders of the state? Or is it only being echoed in the pages of newspapers and on television screens? The time for effective, visible, and ruthless action to stop this flood of weapons is now. Tomorrow may be too late.
Government’s duplicity on the Rohingya
In early 2025, Yunus announced that Myanmar would take back 180,000 Rohingya in the first phase. However, there has been no visible progress in implementing this announcement. Later, Yunus said that more than 80,000 Rohingya had entered Bangladesh in the past few months due to violence in Rakhine. Later, it was learned that this number was 113,000. These contradictory statements have raised questions about the government’s position.
Many see the visit of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to Bangladesh and his participation in an iftar ceremony in a Rohingya camp as a political drama. There have been claims on social media that this visit and Yunus’ comments have given false assurances of Rohingya repatriation, which have not been implemented in reality.
Analysts say that Rakhine is now under the control of the Arakan Army. There is a three-way conflict between the Myanmar army, the Arakan Army, and the ordinary Rohingya people. If the humanitarian corridor is opened and falls into the hands of the Arakan Army, then the UN staff themselves may be in danger. What is more dangerous is that if this corridor actually becomes a new route for the Rohingya to escape, it will give rise to a new Rohingya wave, which Bangladesh will no longer be able to bear.
Observers say that if someone is really trying to weaken the army, it is a great threat to the security and stability of the state. History has shown that if military power is used for divisive or political purposes in any state, it can undermine the internal security of the country and the public’s trust. If the effectiveness or mental stability of the force is damaged, it weakens the country’s defense capability. Maintaining the internal unity and morality of the force is essential for the country’s security.
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