USA Bureau

Experts at an international webinar have termed Bangladesh’s outstanding success in counterterrorism as a ‘role model’ of the world and said this success is not only helping Bangladesh’s security and sustainable economic development, but also in the region and beyond.

Adopted by the present government, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s “zero tolerance policy” on terrorism has immensely contributed to ensuring security at the national, regional and global levels, the experts told the webinar.

They simultaneously stressed that the security cooperation between Bangladesh and the USA needs to be deepened in the interest of the people of both countries.

“Global Forum for Violence-free Secular Democratic Bangladesh” organized the international webinar styled “Success in Combating Terrorism in Bangladesh and its Implications for Security in the Region and Beyond” on Monday (December 11).

The webinar was moderated by Dr. Nuran Nabi, a Councilman of New Jersey, USA, heroic freedom fighter and Author, while four experts joined the event as the panelists.

Taking part in the webinar as a panelist, Paulo Casaca, the founder and Executive Director of the Brussels-based think tank — South Asia Democratic Forum, pointed out Bangladesh’s outstanding role in counterterrorism at the national, regional and global levels. “Bangladesh has become a role model in anti-terrorism domain which has been widely lauded by the international community,” he remarked.

Chris Blackburn, a UK-based political analyst, put strong emphasis on counterterrorism and security issues, and said that during the BNP-Jamaat rule, there was Pakistanization of Bangladesh which needs to be critically looked at.

He also mentioned the involvement of a Pakistani diplomat in 2015 with regard to the terrorism dynamics in Bangladesh.

A B M Nasir, a Professor of Economics at the North Carolina Central University, observed that Bangladesh becomes important to the national security of the United States and suggested the security cooperation between Bangladesh and USA needs to be deepened in the interest of the people of both countries.

He also discussed how BNP-Jammat regime became a security threat to the people of Bangladesh and also to the national security of the United States.

Speaking at the event, Dr. Md. Shariful Islam, an Associate Professor of International Relations at the University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh’s zero-tolerance policy on terrorism under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government has immensely contributed to the security of India, particularly by addressing insurgency from Northeast India.

Dr. Islam also argued that Bangladesh’s zero-tolerance policy on terrorism also helped to the United States and the global community in the domain of international security.

In his concluding remarks, Dr. Nuran Nabi, the moderator of the webinar, said that there has been a transformation in counterterrorism in Bangladesh under the dynamic and visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

He noted that Bangladesh is doing better compared to the United States and many European countries in the context of counterterrorism. The tremendous success of current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in combating terrorism is not only helping in security and sustainable economic development in Bangladesh, but also in the region and beyond, he mentioned.