Our responsibility following the jihadist attacks in Sri Lanka

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Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury

Over two hundred innocent people had already died in the April 22 jihadist attacks in Sri Lanka, with few more hundreds critically injured. Still there are potential risks of more attacks in that country. According to News1 correspondent Lahiru Fernando, Sri Lankan Police HQ has issued a press release announcing that Police STF Officers of the Pettah police station have discovered 87 detonators at the Fort Bus Station. The officers discovered 12 detonators around 1 pm today (April 22) on the bus station floor.

Police found another 75 detonators when searching a garbage area in the same location. All detonators have been taken into Police custody and no arrests have been made. Pettah police are conducting further investigations.

Internationally acclaimed counter-terrorism expert and one of the most esteemed scholars on radical Islam, jihad and militancy, Robert Spencer Sri Lankan government suspects that a local Islamist extremist group called National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ) was behind the deadly suicide bomb attacks that killed nearly 300 people, government spokesperson Rajitha Senaratne said.

The National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ), that is, the National Tawhid Organization. Tawhid is Islam’s absolute monotheism that sees virtually every other religion as idolatrous.

But, here I would like to definitely disagree with what the Sri Lankan authorities are trying to say. In my personal understanding, President Sirisena actually is trying to avoid international interference into Sri Lanka by wrongly or falsely portraying the incident to be an act of “homegrown” jihadists. We fully understand no homegrown jihadist outfit has such capability of the notorious attacks that already have taken lives of hundreds. There is involvement of international jihadist outfit – either Islamic State (ISIS) or Al Qaeda. As Al Qaeda has in recent months already gone very much low profile, the involvement of ISIS is very much a possibility. Moreover, we have some very specific information on a Bangladesh-born ISIS funder living in the United Kingdom who has been plotting such cruel conspiracy for some time. This man named Md. Shahid Uddin Khan, along with his wife Farjana Anjum and daughters are not only funding ISIS, but they even are conspiring of unseating democratically elected governments in South Asia, including Bangladesh and establishing Caliphate.

According to media reports, Islamic State (ISIS) funder Shahid Uddin Khan, his wife Farjana Anjum and daughters are already under the radar of international media for their direct involvement into jihadist activities. So far they already have formed a network, which spreads up to United States. According to information, Shahid Uddin Khan has his long-time cohort M. Sajjad Hussain and his wife who currently are residing in Texas, United States. Sajjad, being the lapdog of Shahid has been spreading radical Islam and jihadism in the US for a number of years, while Sajjad’s wife, a known high-end sex worker and former mistress of Shahid Uddin Khan are not only helping ISIS in spreading its messages in the US, he (Sajjad) also is collaborating with Shahid in ousting the democratically elected government in Bangladesh through coup. This racket already is targeting Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) and making foul bids in tarnishing the image of the organization.

Md. Shahid Uddin Khan (Army No: BA002428, Course: 8-BMA, Commission Date: 10-06-1983), who along with his wife Farjana Anjum and daughters had smuggled out millions of dollars from Bangladesh and invested in various business ventures in United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom.

In 2009, he invested two million pounds in the United Kingdom in exchange of obtaining immigrant status under Visa Tier 1, vide VAF No. 511702. Later the family had laundered an unknown amount of money and brought that into the United Kingdom.

Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Bangladesh Police, based on secret information, raided House No. 184, Road No. 2, Baridhara DOHS in Dhaka, Bangladesh on January 17, 2019. This house is owned by Md. Shahid Uddin Khan and was allegedly used as a warehouse for arms, explosives and propaganda materials of Islamic State (ISIS). During the raid, large volume of weapons, detonator, counterfeit Bangladesh currency notes and jihadist materials of ISIS were recovered by the CTTC unit.

Following this recovery, three separate cases against ISIS-funder Md. Shahid Uddin Khan, his wife Farjana Anjum, daughters and other accomplices were lodged. The cases are: Cantonment PS, Case no 10, Section-6(2)/7/11/12 of Anti Terrorism Act 2009 (amendment 2013); Cantonment PS,  Case no 11, Section-25-A,  Special Power Act 1974; and Cantonment PS, Case no 12, Section-19-A of Arms Act 1878.

According to my own research on the activities of Md. Shahid Uddin Khan and members of his family are not only laundered millions of pounds in the United Kingdom and continuing jihadist activities, they also are gradually expanding activities by recruiting various individuals in other countries. An Indian newspaper said, M. Sajjad Hussain, a man living in Houston, Texas in the US is one of the top accomplices of ISIS funder Khans family. Sajjad is a self-proclaimed agent of Pakistani espionage agency Inter Service Intelligence (ISI). He has been an active agent of Pakistani spy agency Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) and also was one of the key accomplices of Lt Col (sacked) Md. Shahid Uddin Khan in coordinating with local and international network of Islamic State.

Indian newspaper The Eastern Herald on January 15, 2019 published an exclusive report exposing activities of Sajjad Hussain. The newspaper said, “In Bangladesh, M. Sajjad Hussain was living a posh life although he does not have any valid source of earnings. His son, Asif Hussain was a student of North South University, where he also was affiliated with militancy outfit named Hizb-Ut-Tahrir. Sajjad Hossain never hesitated in telling few of his friends in Dhaka of his connections with Pakistani espionage agency Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI).”

It further said, “Although he resides in Houston, Texas and still is living a posh life, this ISI handler does not have any valid source of earnings. His wife, Nahid Parveen Neeru works as a deep-covered operative of ISI under her husband’s command. It is learnt from credible sources, Nahid Parveen Neeru connects with various targets in the United States, mostly Christians, Jews and Hindus under the disguise of a sex worker and extracts information as per instruction of ISI. To the locals, this couple is seen as dubious, while many even believe Sajjad’s main source of income is from his wife profession as a sex worker.”

It is a matter of great surprise as to how the United Kingdom is still allowing a dangerous family like that of Khans continues their activities by using the British soil.

Following the latest jihadist attacks in Sri Lanka, it is our common responsibility not only to stand for the people of that country and the members of the families of the victims, but also to speak out much louder against radical Islam and jihad. Britain and United States should immediately deport individuals like Md. Shahid Uddin Khan, his wife Farjana Anjum and their daughters as well as M. Sajjad Hussain, his wife Nahid Parveen Neeru and son Asif Hussain and confiscate their properties and freeze bank accounts forthwith.

Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is the editor of Blitz. Follow him on Twitter at @Salah_Shoaib

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