Threat of religious extremism

Police arrested 21 members of the Jamaatul Mujahideen after a gunfight and recovered arms and ammunition from their possession. This was clearly not an encounter between ordinary outlaws and the members of a law enforcement agency. The Mujahideen members stood their ground and engaged the police in a firefight and that alone was indicative of their preparations, training and capability to fight against the police. So they were not run-of-the-mill kind of terrorists. They are organised and seem to have been indoctrinated by their leaders for launching a particular type of campaign which the members of the group claim, as per the information gathered from printed materials recovered from a house, to be a 'holy war'.

They were also prepared for any eventuality with a high level of motivation and some specific mission to fulfil. The Joypurhat incidents also indicate that the militants might be working in league with others of their ilk. The recent arms haul in Bogra was a pointer to trafficking in lethal weapons. The circumstantial evidences suggest that they could be part of a wider network of ideologically charged zealots working to attain their long-term goals in a very organised manner.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

All these point to the dangers that the nation may have to face unless such activities are nipped before they assume intractable proportions. But the government's initial reaction appears to be one of shying away from decisive action that is needed to check the growth of such militant organisations. It does not appear to be willing to dip its feet in troubled water. And political finger pointing, the sole purpose of which is to undermine rivals, often blurs the picture to a great extent.

There is reason to believe that the incidents have a regional and global dimension, particularly because the surge in terrorist activities is far too manifest in many countries these days. So the government should think in terms of seeking help from international intelligence networks to get to the bottom of the phenomenon and unearth the links, if any, between the militants and international extremist groups.