Sheikh Hasina regime tightens screws further
Recent amendments strengthening Bangladesh's anti-terror law reiterate the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami league Government's longstanding commitment towards countering terrorism. Since the incumbent regime in Dhaka came to power in 2008, it has cracked down on terrorists and worked to ensure that Bangladesh does not become a haven for extremists. India too has benefitted from Prime Minister Hasina's relentless war on terror. In fact, it was only after she took charge that the original anti-terror law was promulgated in 2009. It was modified in 2012 and then again amended by Parliament this Tuesday. Once signed by the President, the latest amendment will allow courts to accept material posted on the Internet as evidence in terror cases. It will also let the central bank freeze without a warrant suspicious bank accounts. The amendment also empowers police officers as they will no longer have to seek the permission of a District Magistrate prior to investigating a case under the anti-terror law. Overall, the amendment is a necessary upgrade for the 2009 law. The nature of terrorist activity, the tools used by militants and indeed the concept of terrorism as a whole are constantly evolving. If the Government in Dhaka seeks to eradicate this menace, it must keep up with the times, and it is against this backdrop that the changes to the anti-terror law must be viewed. Take, for instance, the inclusion of online material as evidence acceptable in court. It is well-established that terror groups use the Internet to indoctrinate and even train millions to become militants. The Hizb-ut-Tahrir in Bangladesh, for instance, is a growing concern because of its rampant anti-social propaganda that radicalises youth who then go on to join hardline militant groups. Similarly, there are jihadi forums galore that exhort Muslim youth to take up arms against a supposedly unjust world order. In a situation such as this, it’s imperative that online material be considered as admissible evidence — even if it marks a departure from Bangladesh's archaic Evidence Act of 1872, as pointed out by critics of the Amendment.
These critics have also argued that allowing the central bank to shut down suspicious accounts without a warrant is a draconian move which violates the basic principles of the criminal justice system. But given how terror activities are funded, often transnationally, drastic steps are the need of the hour. There is no doubt that the new changes give the state extra-ordinary powers to take on terrorists — but there can also be no two ways about the fact that implementing a zero-tolerance state policy is the only way to crush terrorism. That the Bangladesh Nationalist Party alongside its radical ally, the Jamaat-e-Islami, has still slammed the Government's efforts to bolster counter-terrorism efforts, speaks volumes about the Opposition’s political agenda.