Bangladesh releases former minister who financed POK terrorists to harm India

A Bangladesh court has granted relief to Abdus Salam Pintu, a former junior minister and member of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), who had been imprisoned for 17 years. He was released after being convicted for his involvement in funding and supporting terrorists from Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) and Bangladesh. Abdus Salam played a key role in assisting the Pakistan-based terrorist group Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) in carrying out attacks against India, including providing funds for arms procurement, recruitment, and training for militants. 

In 2004, he was sentenced to death for his involvement in the grenade attack on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Abdus Salam was accused of training madrassa students in firearms and explosives and mobilizing funds and weapons for insurgents in Kashmir. HuJI, a designated terrorist organization in several countries, including India, Bangladesh, Israel, New Zealand, the UK, and the US, carried out numerous terrorist activities in India, in line with Pakistan's "Bleed India with a Thousand Cuts" strategy.

Abdus Salam's release comes after the acquittal of another former BNP minister, Lutfozzaman Babar, who was involved in the same 2004 assassination attempt. Both were also involved in the 2004 Chattogram arms haul case. The investigation revealed that most of the recruits for HuJI's terror operations came from POK and Bangladesh, and the group aimed to eliminate Sheikh Hasina due to her government's opposition to their activities.

Following Abdus Salam's release, and that of other Islamists with anti-India stances, the Naya Bangladesh government, led by Muhammad Yunus, has witnessed a growing trend of freeing hardline Islamists, with some, like Jashimuddin Rahmani, a leader of an al-Qaeda-affiliated group, also being released.