The Bangladesh government has started scrutinising activities of NGOs approved during the rule of the BNP-led four-party alliance government to see if they have any involvement with funding militant activities.
Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith has charged certain NGOs with funding militant outfits and named the former Social Welfare Minister, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, who is also secretary-general of fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami, as the possible "culprit."
Mr. Muhith told reporters on Wednesday that there were some investments in Bangladesh "that patronise militant activities," but he did not identify them.
After the massive countrywide bombings in 2005 carried out by the banned Jamaat'ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, intelligence agencies reported that certain West Asia-based NGOs were funding terrorism in Bangladesh. They recommended banning the Kuwait-based Revival of Islamic Heritage Society and taking action against a number of other West Asian organisations found to have links with Islamist extremists. |