Behind the protests: ISI conspiracy in Bangladesh to topple Sheikh Hasina & establish anti-India govt

Pakistan’s Intelligence agency ISI is using students to create tension in Bangladesh as it wants to establish an anti-India government by dislodging Sheikh Hasina, CNN-News18 quoted top Intelligence sources as saying.

ISI sleeper cells are working full-time in Dhaka to dislodge Hasina, they said.

“ISI is using Jamat and their student unit Chhatra Shivir to aggravate the crisis in Dhaka. Jamat is considered to be very close to Pakistan and secret funding was given to them from time to time. They regular get briefings and instructions from the Pakistan mission in Dhaka,” they told CNN-News18.

According to sources, the ISI perceives the Awami League government as being supported by India and seeks its removal to create instability in the region. This, they claim, would provide Pakistan with multiple entry points into India for various activities.

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The ISI allegedly aims to bring the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to power which is considered as pro-Pakistan. Sources suggest that the ISI is employing a similar strategy used in Kashmir, where it instigates unrest, violence, and terrorism to draw global attention.

The ultimate goal, they say, is to establish a neutral government and hold UN-monitored elections, with the current objective being to oust Hasina through force or international pressure, paving the way for a BNP-Jamat-led government.

PM Hasina resigned on Monday, ending 15 years in power as thousands of protesters defied a military curfew and stormed her official residence.

Shortly after local media showed the embattled leader boarding a military helicopter with her sister, Bangladesh’s military chief Gen. Waker-uz-Zaman announced plans to seek the president’s guidance on forming an interim government.

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He promised that the military would stand down, and to launch an investigation into the deadly crackdowns that fueled outrage against the government, and asked citizens for time to restore peace.

“Keep faith in the military, we will investigate all the killings and punish the responsible,” he said. “I have ordered that no army and police will indulge in any kind of firing.”

“Now, the students must stay calm and help us," he added.

The protests began peacefully as frustrated students demanded an end to a quota system for government jobs, but the demonstrations have since morphed into an unprecedented challenge and uprising against Hasina and her ruling Awami League party.

The government attempted to quell the violence with force, leaving nearly 300 people dead and fueling further outrage and calls for Hasina to step down.

At least 95 people, including at least 14 police officers, died in clashes in the capital on Sunday, according to the country’s leading Bengali-language daily newspaper, Prothom Alo. Hundreds more were injured in the violence.

At least 11,000 people have been arrested in recent weeks. The unrest has also resulted in the closure of schools and universities across the country, and authorities at one point imposed a shoot-on-sight curfew.