In a pivotal counter-terrorism breakthrough with substantial geopolitical implications, Bangladesh’s National Security Intelligence (NSI) exposed a covert operation orchestrated by India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). This operation entailed recruiting Bangladeshi nationals into the extremist network Fitna-al-Khawarij (FaK) to infiltrate Pakistan and perpetrate terrorism under the guise of transnational jihadism. These revelations mark a critical juncture in South Asian security, exposing India’s covert destabilization tactics and the susceptibility of regional states to external ideological subversion.
According to NSI reports, RAW has systematically mobilized Bangladeshi citizens to operate within FaK, a militant organization purportedly designed to simulate Islamist insurgency while serving New Delhi’s geopolitical objectives. FaK, with its jihadist overtones, functions as a front to export terrorism into Pakistan, foment regional instability and strategically redirect blame onto Pakistan through orchestrated disinformation.
NSI intelligence confirms that at least 25 Bangladeshi nationals—excluding four previously killed in Afghanistan—are actively engaged in FaK-led terror operations within Pakistan. Recruited under the pretext of religious duty, these individuals have been inserted into a state-sponsored proxy network, operating under Indian handlers’ tacit direction. By employing Bangladeshi operatives, RAW minimizes diplomatic risk, enabling plausible deniability while portraying terror activities as emanating from non-state transnational actors rather than state complicity.
The operational depth of this network was exposed through significant arrests by Bangladesh’s Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU). On 2 July 2025, ATU detained Ahmed Foysal, a Bangladeshi national who entered Afghanistan on 6 November 2024 and subsequently engaged with RAW-backed FaK networks. Foysal’s transformation from citizen to transnational militant underscores RAW’s exploitation of vulnerable individuals through religious and political manipulation.
More consequential was the arrest on 14 July 2025 of Dr. Shamin Mahfuz, a former academic turned extremist leader of Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya (JFHS), a banned militant group ideologically linked to Daesh and RAW. Dr. Mahfuz’s trajectory exemplifies the evolution of India’s tactics—engaging educated radicals capable of broader community influence and orchestrated recruitment.
Under his command, JFHS expanded its ideological and operational reach, intertwining Palestinian resistance narratives, sectarian mobilization and fundamentalist indoctrination. The group successfully dispatched recruits for militant training under FaK in areas previously contested by Afghan and Pakistani security forces. These training programs, sanctioned by RAW, encompassed weapons handling, guerrilla warfare and cyber-radicalization, effectively transforming religious radicals into proxies for state-sponsored terrorism.
RAW’s covert sponsorship of cross-border terrorism is historically grounded. Since the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, during which RAW supported the Mukti Bahini insurgents, to covert involvement in Sri Lanka’s civil conflict, India’s intelligence has repeatedly manipulated internal conflicts in neighboring states through proxy insurgencies.
What distinguishes the present scenario is the weaponization of jihadist ideology not simply for territorial gains but to distort the international security discourse regarding Pakistan. While India publicly projects itself as a counter-terrorism partner globally, it covertly instigates terror to erode Pakistan’s international standing. This dual strategy fabricates security threats purportedly emanating from Pakistan, thereby justifying diplomatic offensives against Islamabad while deflecting scrutiny from India’s domestic repression, especially against its Muslim minority.
India’s paradoxical posture is stark: while leveraging Muslim identities abroad for covert terror operations, it simultaneously persecutes Muslims within its borders. The domestic landscape is marred by systemic discrimination, communal violence and legal disenfranchisement, evidenced by legislation such as the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), anti-conversion laws and rising instances of targeted lynchings.
This duplicity illustrates a broader strategy of “instrumental Islamophobia” whereby Islamic symbols and communities are manipulated for geopolitical advantage while nurturing an anti-Muslim majoritarian ethos domestically. Such policies not only destabilize regional security but undermine global counter-radicalization efforts by obscuring the true agents of state-sponsored terrorism.
The NSI’s exposure of RAW’s terror networks is a watershed for regional security collaboration. It underscores the imperative for Muslim-majority South Asian states to remain vigilant against external ideological subversion and proxy insurgency. Equally, it calls for a reevaluation of global narratives on terrorism in the region demanding that India’s potential role as a state sponsor of terrorism be scrutinized with parity alongside other nations.
As Bangladesh fortifies its counter-terrorism architecture, the international community must not disregard the geopolitical machinations underpinning RAW’s operations. State-sponsored terrorism masquerading under jihadist façades represents a severe threat to regional peace and stability. Its facilitators must be exposed, confronted and held accountable through concerted diplomatic and security measures.
Ultimately, the revelations from Bangladesh serve as a clarion call for renewed regional cooperation and an honest appraisal of the sources and sponsors of terrorism in South Asia. Only through transparency, accountability and collective resolve can the cycle of proxy insurgency and destabilization be effectively disrupted.
In a pivotal counter-terrorism breakthrough with substantial geopolitical implications, Bangladesh’s National Security Intelligence (NSI) exposed a covert operation orchestrated by India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). This operation entailed recruiting Bangladeshi nationals into the extremist network Fitna-al-Khawarij (FaK) to infiltrate Pakistan and perpetrate terrorism under the guise of transnational jihadism. These revelations mark a critical juncture in South Asian security, exposing India’s covert destabilization tactics and the susceptibility of regional states to external ideological subversion.
According to NSI reports, RAW has systematically mobilized Bangladeshi citizens to operate within FaK, a militant organization purportedly designed to simulate Islamist insurgency while serving New Delhi’s geopolitical objectives. FaK, with its jihadist overtones, functions as a front to export terrorism into Pakistan, foment regional instability and strategically redirect blame onto Pakistan through orchestrated disinformation.
NSI intelligence confirms that at least 25 Bangladeshi nationals—excluding four previously killed in Afghanistan—are actively engaged in FaK-led terror operations within Pakistan. Recruited under the pretext of religious duty, these individuals have been inserted into a state-sponsored proxy network, operating under Indian handlers’ tacit direction. By employing Bangladeshi operatives, RAW minimizes diplomatic risk, enabling plausible deniability while portraying terror activities as emanating from non-state transnational actors rather than state complicity.
The operational depth of this network was exposed through significant arrests by Bangladesh’s Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU). On 2 July 2025, ATU detained Ahmed Foysal, a Bangladeshi national who entered Afghanistan on 6 November 2024 and subsequently engaged with RAW-backed FaK networks. Foysal’s transformation from citizen to transnational militant underscores RAW’s exploitation of vulnerable individuals through religious and political manipulation.
More consequential was the arrest on 14 July 2025 of Dr. Shamin Mahfuz, a former academic turned extremist leader of Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya (JFHS), a banned militant group ideologically linked to Daesh and RAW. Dr. Mahfuz’s trajectory exemplifies the evolution of India’s tactics—engaging educated radicals capable of broader community influence and orchestrated recruitment.
Under his command, JFHS expanded its ideological and operational reach, intertwining Palestinian resistance narratives, sectarian mobilization and fundamentalist indoctrination. The group successfully dispatched recruits for militant training under FaK in areas previously contested by Afghan and Pakistani security forces. These training programs, sanctioned by RAW, encompassed weapons handling, guerrilla warfare and cyber-radicalization, effectively transforming religious radicals into proxies for state-sponsored terrorism.
RAW’s covert sponsorship of cross-border terrorism is historically grounded. Since the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, during which RAW supported the Mukti Bahini insurgents, to covert involvement in Sri Lanka’s civil conflict, India’s intelligence has repeatedly manipulated internal conflicts in neighboring states through proxy insurgencies.
What distinguishes the present scenario is the weaponization of jihadist ideology not simply for territorial gains but to distort the international security discourse regarding Pakistan. While India publicly projects itself as a counter-terrorism partner globally, it covertly instigates terror to erode Pakistan’s international standing. This dual strategy fabricates security threats purportedly emanating from Pakistan, thereby justifying diplomatic offensives against Islamabad while deflecting scrutiny from India’s domestic repression, especially against its Muslim minority.
India’s paradoxical posture is stark: while leveraging Muslim identities abroad for covert terror operations, it simultaneously persecutes Muslims within its borders. The domestic landscape is marred by systemic discrimination, communal violence and legal disenfranchisement, evidenced by legislation such as the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), anti-conversion laws and rising instances of targeted lynchings.
This duplicity illustrates a broader strategy of “instrumental Islamophobia” whereby Islamic symbols and communities are manipulated for geopolitical advantage while nurturing an anti-Muslim majoritarian ethos domestically. Such policies not only destabilize regional security but undermine global counter-radicalization efforts by obscuring the true agents of state-sponsored terrorism.
The NSI’s exposure of RAW’s terror networks is a watershed for regional security collaboration. It underscores the imperative for Muslim-majority South Asian states to remain vigilant against external ideological subversion and proxy insurgency. Equally, it calls for a reevaluation of global narratives on terrorism in the region demanding that India’s potential role as a state sponsor of terrorism be scrutinized with parity alongside other nations.
As Bangladesh fortifies its counter-terrorism architecture, the international community must not disregard the geopolitical machinations underpinning RAW’s operations. State-sponsored terrorism masquerading under jihadist façades represents a severe threat to regional peace and stability. Its facilitators must be exposed, confronted and held accountable through concerted diplomatic and security measures.
Ultimately, the revelations from Bangladesh serve as a clarion call for renewed regional cooperation and an honest appraisal of the sources and sponsors of terrorism in South Asia. Only through transparency, accountability and collective resolve can the cycle of proxy insurgency and destabilization be effectively disrupted.
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