‘Preparing For Jihad’: Pakistan Taliban’s Grip Spreads To Bangladesh, 2 Held Over Terror Links

Last Updated:July 15, 2025, 23:39 IST

Two men were arrested in as many days for having terror links to Pakistan Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Shamin Mahfuz was arrested days after another man was arrested for having ties to Pakistan Taliban. (IMAGE: DHAKA TRIBUNE)

Bangladesh’s counter-terror agencies have arrested two men in separate operations this month for their suspected links to Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), raising fresh concern over the Pakistan-based militant group’s influence creeping into Bangladesh.

On July 2, the Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) arrested Md Foysal, 33, from his shop in Savar, based on intelligence inputs that flagged his connection with the TTP. He was sent to jail the next day, and a case under the Anti-Terrorism Act was registered against him and five others on July 5.

In his reported confession to police, Foysal admitted he was “inspired by the ideology of TTP" and had traveled to Afghanistan via Pakistan in October 2024 along with Ahmed Jubair, a 23-year-old from Savar, who was later killed in a Pakistan army operation in Waziristan.

Foysal also claimed that key accused Engineer Imran Haider had played a central role in “recruiting and motivating Bangladeshi youths for the TTP." According to the case details, Foysal and the other accused, including Rezaul Karim Abrar, Asif Adnan, Zakaria Masud, and Md Sanaf Hasan, were allegedly “spreading TTP ideology online and preparing for jihad".

The phrase “preparing for jihad" featured explicitly in the charge sheet accessed by the Dhaka Tribune, highlighting how the group was not just sharing radical content but actively pushing towards recruitment and militant training.

In a separate operation on July 14, Shamin Mahfuz, 48, a former leader of banned outfits JMB and Jama’atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya, was arrested in Narayanganj by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and handed over to the ATU. Although not named in Foysal’s case, Shamin’s alleged TTP links emerged during interrogation.

With a long history of militancy cases, arms training, and reported efforts to set up extremist camps in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Shamin is also known for his connections with separatist groups like the Kuki-Chin Front (KNF). He had been out on bail since October 2024.

The arrests come close on the heels of Malaysia detaining 36 Bangladeshis last month over alleged terror network links, triggering regional concerns about transnational extremist networks exploiting Bangladesh.

Formed in 2007, the TTP is a coalition of militant groups operating along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and remains designated a terror entity by the UN. Bangladesh’s ATU, launched in 2017, leads the country’s anti-terror operations.

Dhaka, Bangladesh

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