KNF training and aiding Bangladesh-based Islamic terror outfit Sharqiya Group: Intelligence report

"The latest influx is an indication that the ongoing peace talks between the Bangladesh government and the Kuki-Chin National Front that led to a ceasefire in June this year, did not bear positive results and resumption of special operation by the Bangladesh army against the Kuki Chin National Army (KNA), the armed wing of the KNF is imminent," the intelligence report highlighted.

New Delhi:At a time when security forces in India have launched a massive crackdown against Islamic terrorism, an intelligence report has said that Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) has been training and aiding a Bangladesh-based Islamic terrorist outfit named Jamaat-ul-Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya commonly known as Sharqiya Group.

The intelligence report stated that such training to the members of the Islamic terrorist members is provided in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh adjoining Mizoram. Chittagong Hill Tracts is also connected with Myanmar and Tripura as well. The KNF, which is also known as the Bawm party, was established in 2017 with the aim of creating a breakaway state within Bangladesh. However, Indian security agencies claimed that the group was raised by the Bangladesh army to create a division among 11 indigenous tribes of the CHT collectively referred to as Jumma. The members of KNF also got arms training in the Kachin state of Myanmar.

"Such a report is very serious from the viewpoint of India's security issues. We are already fighting against several Islamic terrorist organisations. And if the Sharqiya Group starts its activities in India, that could be a major security challenge for us," a senior official from India's security establishment told this correspondent on condition of anonymity.

As per the report, the KNF started providing shelter and training to members of the Sharqiya Group for a contract of Bangladeshi Taka Rs 3 lakhs per month and the expenditure for food. Significantly, the activities of the Sharqiya Group came to light when Bangladesh's Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) started investigating the disappearance of seven youths from Comilla last year.

According to the intelligence report, KNF president Nathan Bom and several top leaders of the Sharqiya Group are hiding in areas connecting India, Bangladesh and Myanmar (near Mizoram). The Sharqiya Group is supported by Pakistan-based Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and the Bangladesh chapter of Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI).

The intelligence report on the Sharqiya Group comes against the backdrop of the ongoing ethnic clash in Manipur. According to the report, several Bawm community people recently fled to Mizoram from their place in CHT. Bawms trace their ancestry to the larger Chin-Kuki ethnic group.

"The latest influx is an indication that the ongoing peace talks between the Bangladesh government and the Kuki-Chin National Front that led to a ceasefire in June this year, did not bear positive results and resumption of special operation by the Bangladesh army against the Kuki Chin National Army (KNA), the armed wing of the KNF is imminent," the intelligence report highlighted.

Last year, the Bangladesh army launched a massive crackdown against the KNF, resulting in the displacement of thousands of Bawm villagers. Of late, the Northeastern state of Mizoram has become a place for the Bawm community of Bangladesh to take shelter. In fact, Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga has openly extended his support to the Chin-Kuki ethnic group, who were allegedly involved in the ongoing ethnic clash between Kukis and Meiteis in Manipur.

"On August 23, at least 16 people, including five women and five children, left their home in Bangladesh's Rumana village of Chittagong division and reached Mizoram," the report stated.

However, the infiltration of KNF and KNA militants in the disguise of refugees has worsened the situation. Following an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion in a dense forest near Chamdur "P" village in South Mizoram's Lawngtlai district on June 26, security agencies suspect the presence of training base of militant outfits in Mizoram’s forest area.