Bangladeshi Islamist released by Yunus urges Mamata to 'free Bengal & declare independence': Report

A Bangladeshi Islamist leader freed recently by interim ruler Mohammed Yunus has urged West Bengal Chief Minister to break up India, according to a report.

Jashimuddin Rahmani Hafi, the chief of terrorist group al-Qaeda’s affiliate Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), has urged Mamata to “free Bengal from Modi’s rule and declare its independence”, according to India Today.

Rahmani was released from jail last month by Yunus’ interim regime which was propped by Bangladesh’s protestors and army after toppling Sheikh Hasina’s government. He had been in jail since 2013 and was convicted for murders of secular bloggers in the country.

In a video understood to be shot last month, Rahmani warned of “breaking up” India and “hoisting Islamist flags in Delhi”, as per the report.

As the relatively liberal government of Hasina’s Bangladesh Awami Party (BAL) fell after weekslong party, the country has been taken over by pro-Pakistan Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami. The unelected regime of Yunus freed terrorist leader Rahmani at a time the country was in the grips of a wave of a violence against religions minorities like Hindus that saw hundreds of attacks on homes, temples, and cultural institutions.

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Rahmani warns to break India: Report

Going beyond West Bengal, Rahmani threatened to take China’s help and cut the northeast India from rest of the country by blocking the Siliguri Corridor, which is often called the ‘Chicken’s Neck’, according to India Today.

The Siliguri Corridor is the narrow strip of land that connects the northeast Indian states with the rest of the country.

“If you take a step towards Bangladesh, we will ask China to close the Chicken’s Neck. We will tell the Seven Sisters [northeast states] to join the freedom movement,” said Rahmani in the video, as per the report.

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After Yunus released him from prison, Rahmani said he would work to separate Kashmir from India.

“Tell Kashmir to get ready for freedom. Pakistan and Afghanistan together will help Kashmir gain independence. We will work for the freedom of Kashmir,” said Rahmani, as per the report.

Warning India of acting against him, Rahmani said India’s “eyes will be taken out” and “hands will be cut off”.

“It is a country of 18 crore Muslims. This is our sacred land. If you dare to look this way, your eyes will be taken out… Take a step forward, and your legs will be broken… Reach out, and your hands will be cut off…,” said Rahmani, as per the report.

As the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Hasina had cracked down on Islamist organisations and terrorist groups. This had earned her the ire of Islamists and Pakistan and groups it sponsored. These groups have been reported to have been active in the movement that toppled her government. Now that Hasina is out of power, it is feared that the Islamist and radical forces will cement control in Bangladesh and the country could become a safe haven for Pakistan-sponsored anti-India elements.