Bangladesh: Sajeeb Wazed Claims Top Al-Qaeda Leader Living Freely In Bangladesh After Bail
“Hearing the name, one might think of an ordinary madrasa teacher. But to Bangladesh’s intelligence agencies, this man is now one of their biggest headaches": Mr Sajeeb Wajed
NEW DELHI: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s son Mr Sajeeb Wajed on Saturday dropped a fresh bomb on social media claiming Al-Qaeda’s second-in-command Maulana Ikramul Haque alias Abu Talha, who is India’s most wanted terrorist, is living openly in Bangladesh, yet the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government is not making any effort to locate him in the last two years. Mr Wazed also quoted the latest report of the United Nations Security Council that warns that Al-Qaeda is attempting to expand its network in Bangladesh by establishing active cells.
Haque, who uses a fake Indian passport, was arrested in Bangladesh in 2023 but has been missing since his release from jail in October 2024.
Mr Wajed, who was former Information Communication Technology Advisor to Ms Hasina in her tenure as PM, had on August 5 claimed that several terror groups are active in Bangladesh with the assistance of Pakistan’s spy agency Inter State Intelligence (ISI).
“Hearing the name, one might think of an ordinary madrasa teacher. But to Bangladesh’s intelligence agencies, this man is now one of their biggest headaches. He is allegedly the second-highest-ranking leader of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). After being released on bail, he has reportedly been missing for nearly 22 months. Five aliases, a fake Indian passport, and ten terrorism-related cases across the border - yet no one seems able to find him,” Wajed wrote on X.
Haque, along with his wife Faria Afrin, was arrested in Dhaka’s Madartek area in May 2023 while Ms Hasina was in power. After 16 days of remand interrogation, he was sent to Kashimpur Jail. In October 2024 during the regime of Muhammad Yunus, he was released on bail. “Since then, there has been no trace of him. Prison records reportedly list his detainee number as 339/23. He was an accused in an anti-terrorism case but that file now appears to be gathering dust,” Mr Wazed added.
A highly talented as a scholar Haque is fluent in Bengali, Urdu, Arabic and English. He allegedly obtained an Indian passport under a false identity. His list of aliases reportedly includes Abu Talha, Maulana Sabet, Nur Hossain, Mansur and Milan.
“The organization’s Bangladeshi branch, known as Ansar al-Islam, is an old player. From the battlefields of Afghanistan to the murders of judges in Jhalakathi and the execution of Sheikh Abdur Rahman, Al-Qaeda’s long shadow has reportedly been present behind numerous episodes,” he wrote.
“…Who will take seriously the news of Haque’s disappearance? To a government in which Jamaat is allegedly represented in the cabinet, the escape of Al-Qaeda’s second-highest-ranking leader may be nothing more than a file number. Haque’s father reportedly says that his son is teaching at a madrasa somewhere in Narayanganj. The police superintendent has also reportedly said that he had heard Haque was teaching and that efforts were underway to locate him. Nearly 22 months have passed. Yet the whereabouts of a man known by five different names remain unknown. Such apparent helplessness could understandably raise suspicions that someone close to the corridors of power may be providing protection to the fugitive militant leader,” Mr Wazed charged.
