Jerusalem, Aug 17 (IANS) Despite a $5 million reward still being offered by the US State Department for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Bangladeshi terror fugitive and dismissed army officer Syed Ziaul Haque – a convicted conspirator in the 2015 killing of American citizen Avijit Roy – influential retired military officers in Bangladesh are working to suspend his convictions, drop his pending criminal cases and ultimately pave the way for his return to military service, a report has revealed.
“If successful, the campaign would raise uncomfortable questions about Bangladesh’s commitment to counterterrorism cooperation with Washington and about the future of one of America’s most prominent terrorism cases in South Asia,” Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, Editor of Bangladeshi newspaper ‘Blitz’, wrote in ‘The Jerusalem Post’.
Recalling the incident, Choudhury said that in February 2015, Avijit Roy and his wife, Rafida Bonya Ahmed, both Bangladesh-born US citizens, were attending a book fair in Dhaka when assailants armed with machetes attacked them. Roy was killed in the attack, while Ahmed sustained critical injuries, but survived.
“A total of six individuals were charged, tried, and convicted in Bangladesh. Two of the convicted conspirators, Ziaul Haque (aka Major Zia) and Akram Hussain, were tried in absentia and remain at large. Two related groups claimed responsibility for the attack. Ansarullah Bangla Team, an Al-Qaeda-inspired terrorist organisation based in Bangladesh, claimed responsibility shortly after the incident,” Choudhury stated.
“Subsequently, Asim Umar, the now-deceased leader of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), released a widely circulated video claiming that AQIS followers were responsible for the attack on Roy and Ahmed,” he noted.
According to Choudhary, the most alarming development reported recently by local media is the coordinated campaign by former military officers to provide legal relief to dismissed Bangladesh Army Major Zia-ul Haque, whom authorities have named as a key figure of terror group Ansar al-Islam.
Citing reports, he said that the initiative spearheaded by members of Bangladesh’s Armed Forces Retired Officers Welfare Association (RAWA) involves “appeals to government ministries, applications seeking suspension of death sentences, and efforts to withdraw pending criminal cases”.
Referring to documents and statements from RAWA leaders, Choudhury wrote that the organisation has been coordinating with relevant government authorities to establish a legal pathway that could eventually enable Ziaul Haque to return to the country, challenge his convictions, and seek reinstatement in military service.
Raising concerns over the wider implications of the matter, he said, “For Washington, the issue is likely to be viewed not merely through the prism of Bangladesh’s internal legal processes but also as a measure of whether a key regional partner remains committed to the principles that have underpinned global counterterrorism efforts since the attacks of September 11, 2001.”
Last week, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) warned that Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) has been attempting to use Bangladesh as a base to establish terrorist cells.
The finding appeared in the 38th report of the UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team. The report was submitted to the Security Council committee dealing with the Islamic State, Al-Qaeda, and associated groups.
The report said that the November 2025 Red Fort attack in Delhi was linked to AQIS and highlighted concerns over the group’s efforts to use Bangladesh as a base for building terrorist networks.
The warning comes against the backdrop of heightened concerns about rising extremism in Bangladesh. Recent recoveries of bombs and explosives from areas in and around Dhaka have prompted authorities to intensify security measures, including placing field police on heightened alert and strengthening intelligence surveillance.
–IANS
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