Muhammad Yunus, who is largely considered to be a puppet of the West, was installed as the caretaker of the interim government in Bangladesh with the sole intention of counterbalancing Bharat’s influence in South Asia.
Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, had indicated last year that the US was meddling in her country’s affairs. While that statement was criticised by a vast majority, it ultimately turned out to be true.
While the US under Biden may have won the first round of the battle, things are currently changing at a rapid pace as Bangladesh has gone completely out of Yunus’ control.
Syed Ziaul Haque, a Major who was sacked for the murder of a US national, has applied for an acquittal, and the Muhammad Yunus administration has decided to entertain the same. This is likely to send shock waves to the US administration, which lectures the world on counterterrorism. The decision of the Bangladesh government to entertain this appeal by Haque only shows scant regard for the counterterrorism efforts of the international community.
Biden’s legacy in limbo
It is a well-known fact that Yunus was installed as the caretaker of the interim government in Bangladesh through a revolt by Islamist-backed students. This revolt had the backing of Joe Biden, the Obamas, George Soros and the Clintons.
The ouster of Hasina was indeed a setback for Bharat since it changed plenty of equations in the region. New Delhi has not resorted to any knee-jerk reaction and has adopted a wait-and-watch policy. A senior official in New Delhi tells Organiser that the days of the Islamists in Bangladesh are numbered. There is already an undercurrent in which the people of the country are getting ready to revolt against the current dispensation. Eventually, the Yunus regime will have to step aside and hold a free and fair election, the official noted.
The deep-state may have managed to oust a democratically elected government in Bangladesh. The gamble has, however, been short-lived, with Donald Trump winning the elections. Once inaugurated on January 20, 2025, a lot is set to change in Bangladesh, and Trump will investigate the Biden administration’s meddling in Bangladesh.
Now, with the Yunus government entertaining an appeal to acquit Haque, a lot is set to change. Trump will not take this lying down and, once in office, would invoke its authority to prosecute individuals who harm American citizens abroad. Haque played a key role in the murder of a US citizen and is also linked to the Al-Qaeda. The decision to back his acquittal will not only lead to an investigation against Biden’s vested interests in Bangladesh, but can also lead to sanctions being imposed on Bangladesh. Yunus and his associates could well be sanctioned under the Global Magnitsky Act. This would lead to freezing of assets, imposition of a visa ban and restriction of business dealings. Yunus has business interests in the US, which includes Grameen America, and this could well come under scrutiny.
Trump will not hold back on acting against the Bangladesh regime and investigations will reveal how closely Yunus’ business interests are linked to the Bidens, Clintons, Obamas and George Soros. Such an inquiry by the Trump administration will reveal a lot of personal interests that the current US dispensation had in Bangladesh, and this will eventually tarnish the Biden legacy.
Acquittal of Haque, an end game
The Biden administration has remained largely silent when it comes to violence that is being unleashed by the radical Islamists in Bangladesh. The constant persecution of the Hindu minorities in Bangladesh is something that the US has remained silent about. There was just one warning that the Biden administration issued on this topic, but that was more of a formality.
However, Haque’s acquittal clearly signals that things are slipping out of control. The very fact that he was involved in the murder of a US national suggests that Yunus is no longer able to protect Washington’s interests. This development will not be taken lightly by the Trump administration, which prides itself on an America-first agenda.
Haque is not an ordinary terrorist. He is closely linked to terror groups such as the Al-Qaeda and Ansar Al Islam. He had been convicted in absentia for orchestrating the murders of secular bloggers. This included the murder of US citizen Abhjit Roy. He is also accused of harming Roy’s wife, Rafida Ahmed Bonya, also a US citizen.
Haque was designated as a terrorist by the US Department of State, and a bounty of $5 was announced on him. Haque had fled Bangladesh in 2013 and is currently living in Pakistan under the protection of the ISI. After Yunus took over, he returned to Bangladesh using a Pakistani passport.
Ideally, this appeal for an acquittal ought to have been thrown out. The fact that the Yunus administration decided to entertain the appeal only shows how much the ISI is controlling the system in Bangladesh. To complicate matters further, Haque, through his lawyers, has also appealed to the US State Department to retract its bounty announcement against him. This was done with the help of Jon Danilowicz, a US diplomat who is on the payroll of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. He lobbies on behalf of this party.
These developments will strain Bangladesh-US ties in the wake of Trump taking office. A lot would depend on how the Biden administration would react to this development. The Biden administration is unlikely to react strongly to this development. This euphoria for Yunus will be short-lived since Trump for sure is not going to take this kindly. This would eventually signal an end game for the Yunus administration and the ISI’s agenda in Dhaka.
Any decision relating to Haque would determine a lot of factors. It casts a shadow on the commitment by the Yunus regime in its fight against extremism. It would also be a question mark on the Biden legacy since it was his administration that helped install Muhammad Yunus in Bangladesh. This would raise several questions on whether Biden was serious in his intent to fight terror or was parroting what the deep state told him to do.
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